Hearts Gone Wrong
by SereneCalamity
Summary: They were both raised in the biker lifestyle but they were on opposing sides. They had walked away from each other before, but it wasn't going to be so easy a second time. Biker AU. Clace.
1. Chapter 1

_New story! I've been looking forward to posting this, and I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter. I apologize for any mistakes._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Unfortunately..._

"Oi, oi," Isabelle Lightwood was whispering, her mouth so close to her best friends ear that it was heating with her breath. "They're totally checking you out." Clarissa Fairchild-Morgernstern looked down at the ground and then subtly glanced over her shoulder. There were two guys, both of them looking over at her, their eyes skimming over her body. Clary looked back at her friend and made a face.

"Not really my type," she said with a one shouldered shrug, a disinterest expression on her face.

"Oh yeah?" Isabelle grinned. "Well, they can still buy our drinks for the evening. Doesn't mean that we need to go home with them." Clary smirked.

"Of course," she replied with a smirk as the music swelled through the club and the throngs of people all started jumping and screaming to the lyrics of an old Jessie J song. The two girls leaned in, Izzy's hands going around Clary's neck and pulling her in close as their lips came together. The two men who had been staring at them widened their eyes as they took in the females, the taller one's mouth dropping as the girls turned slightly to give them a better view. Clary's hand skimmed down her friends side and cupped Izzy's ass through her thin black dress and gave it a squeeze. When they pulled apart, Isabelle glanced to the side and then grinned and pressed one last kiss to Clary's mouth.

"I think we're good," she whispered against the red heads skin.

The night went as expected.

Izzy got so drunk that she couldn't stand, and Clary only had a couple; enough to get her feeling a little tipsy but not enough so that she was acting sloppy. The douche bags who clearly didn't get the hint that they weren't interested kept buying them drinks, but that was what they wanted. By the time the girls ditched them and ended up on top of the bar, hands above their heads and shaking their asses, they had spent over a hundred dollars on the two.

"I need to be screwed, Clare," Isabelle slurred against her Clary's ear as she helped her to the toilet. "I'm fucking horny."

"Well, I like kissing you, babe, but I don't think I'm the one for _that_ particular job," Clary grinned as she helped her friend stand and then waited as Isabelle pulled her thong up. "You want me to call Simon?"

"I won't be able to get on the back of his bike," Isabelle muttered. "Can you just help me to a cab?"

"We'll share one to Simon's place. I'll check that he's home first," Clary said as she pulled Isabelle out of the booth and turned on the tap. While Isabelle washed her hands, Clary got her phone out of her clutch and speed dialled Simon, holding the phone up to her ear as she quickly jumped forward to stop Izzy from pitching to the left.

"Hey," came a response.

"Hey, Si," Clary said, wrapping an arm around Isabelle's waist. "You home?"

"Yeah, you guys need a ride?" Simon Lewis asked.

"Nah, it's fine, I've got money for a cab. She'll be there in about twenty minutes," Clary said. Isabelle looked as she was about to pass out against the wall of the bathroom and Clary quickly steadied. "Okay, girl, your man is waiting for you."

"Simon?"

"Well, he's the only man who would put up with yo ass," she grinned at her and helped Isabelle finish drying her hands. She called up a taxi, who told her that it would be there in about ten minutes. It was a little past two, and the club wasn't quite as busy as it had been before. There were still lots of people, but there was actually breathing room now; it wasn't like that really mattered. Most people knew who Clary and Isabelle were anyway, and they parted to let the two girls through. When the taxi arrived, Clary pushed Isabelle in first and then climbed in after her, giving the driver the address for Simon's place.

"We're going to Simon's?" Isabelle slurred.

"Yeah, babe. We're going to Simon's," Clary grinned over at her as her head lolled back again. It only took a few minutes to get out of the township and over to Simons place. She paid the cab fare and then got out, one arm circled around Isabelle. Simon opened the door and rolled his eyes with a grin when he saw his girlfriend.

"This is how you bring her to me?" Simon asked as he took Isabelle from Clary.

"Hey, she's ready for the taking," Clary smirked up at him.

"Look, I'll give you a ride home, okay? Or you can crash in the spare room."

"No, no, it's fine," Clary shook her head. "The taxi is waiting." Simon looked over her shoulder and didn't see it at the end of the driveway. "It's just a little further up," she assured him. Simon pursed his lips, not looking too happy but she was already taking a couple of steps back. "Enjoy the rest of your night, love birds!" She called before turning around and heading down the drive way, holding her clutch close to her.

She liked walking home at night. It was dark, and the streets were empty, but she had only had a couple of drinks, so she had her wits about her. Plus, people knew who her dad was.

Anyone would have to be suicidal to mess with her.

She was only a block away from home, and taking a short cut through an alley between a couple of houses when she first heard something behind her. There was a rustle and a snap of a twig and she paused, glancing over her shoulder, but not able to see anything in the shadows. There was only one light in the alley, and even that was flickering and not particularly bright. Clary tightened her hand around her clutch, and continued walking, forcing herself not to go any faster than she was now. There was another shuffle behind her and this time she stopped, opening up her clutch. Inside where the two of the most important things a girl could carry.

Her phone, and the gun that her mother had given her for her eighteenth birthday.

It was tiny, and able to be carried in pretty much any tiny purse she had.

"Okay, asshole," she announced into the blackness. "I would stop following right about now or I'm going to shoot a hole right through your balls. And don't think I'll miss, because I won't." She was greeted with silence, but she didn't move, still watching the darkness, legs braced slightly apart as she watched for any movement. There was nothing, but she trusted her instincts, poised at the ready, before finally, someone stepped out from the shadows. Her whole body coiled tight and her eyes narrowed as she saw who it was. "You're fucking kidding me," she growled out.

"Hey, Red," came a low voice that still made her shiver all over.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Clary snapped, still aiming her gun directly at the apex of his legs in case he got any ideas. "What the fuck are you even doing around here? I thought you left."

"I'm back," he shrugged, undeterred by the gun as he took a couple of steps closer.

"Don't take another step closer," Clary bit out and clearly the ice in her tone was clear because he stopped, but by now he was fully out of the shadows and now she could see him clearly in the moonlight.

And he was just as gorgeous as he did four years ago.

"I came back, Red," Jace Herondale said to her. "And I'm not leaving any time soon."

"That doesn't have jackshit to do with me," she threw back at him. He let out a laugh, running his hand through his shaggy hair and tilting his head to the side as he risked another step forward.

"That's bullshit, and you know it," he said to her softly, his voice carrying over the silence of the night. The silence stretched out, and finally, Clary let her gun drop to her side, the safety still off and her finger still resting on the trigger. Jace took that as a good side, and took a couple steps in her direction until he was only a few inches away from her, and they studied each other up and down.

She was wearing a tiny blue and silver sequinned dress, clinging to her body. There were heels strapped to her ankles, which was footwear he had never seen her in before. She had a few more curves, her breasts and hips a little rounder and more womanly than they had been when she was a teenager. Her red hair was a shade darker and a little bit longer, the curls surrounding her perfect, heart shaped face and make up emphasizing her lips and eyelashes.

He had another piercing, so that there were now two hoops in lower left lobe of his ear. His hair was about the same length, just above shoulder length, wavy and blonde. He was wearing a pair of dark haired jeans and a white tee-shirt, with a leather cut over the top, a patch on the breast of one side announcing _'Devils Hand'._ There were two rings on one hand, and one on the other, and his fingers were curled into his fist as he stared at her.

"You need to stay away from me, Herondale," Clary said with a shake of her head. "And you need to get out of this town before someone recognizes you and tries to bury you six feet under."

"I'm pretty sure I learnt how to sneak around this town over the two years we were together," Jace assured her with a confident smirk.

"Yeah, well, you know what?" Clary snapped her safety on and shoved the gun into her clutch. "I don't want to responsible when my dad finds out who's in his town, and tries to cut off your fingers one by one. So fuck off, and leave me alone." And with that, she spun on her heel and took off at a stalk, as fast as she could walk in the high heels that she was in. There was a rush of air behind her as Jace caught up with her, grasping her arm and jerking her back around to face him. His other hand went to the back of her head, pulling her face against his and pressing his lips against hers.

The kiss lasted all of five seconds, before Clary was jumping back, and throwing a punch directly at Jace's nose, blood spurting over his mouth and down his neck.

Clary shot him one last glare before taking off running in the opposite direction.

 _So? What are we all thinking? She's a little feisty in this one. Haha. It's fun to write._

 _I haven't figured out a posting schedule yet, but I'll let you know when I do. A lot of it will depend on feedback, so make sure you let me know what you think ;) I'll send out a preview for a review x_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I'm so glad you guys are interested in this story! Anyway, on with the story..._

"Where were you last night?" Valentine Morgenstern asked as he grabbed a bread roll from the basket in the middle of the table. Clary glanced up from where she was eating her soup and looked over at her father, who was sitting at the head of the table.

"I was out with Izzy," Clary replied with a shrug.

"Til two in the morning?" Valentine pushed. Clary rolled her eyes and put her spoon down in her bowl.

"This an interrogation or some shit?" She asked. "I was out clubbing, dropped Izzy off at Simons afterwards and then went home. Probably got back around three."

"Seb was looking for you," he answered.

"Good for him," Clary muttered as she looked over at her mother, who just shrugged at her.

"You know he has a thing for you, right?" Valentine said.

"Does it look like a care?" Clary lifted an eyebrow. "He's an asshole." Valentine pointed his spoon at her, as if to warn her about what she was saying, but then he snorted and went back to his food. It was a tradition in the Fairchild-Morgenstern home that they always had lunch together on Sundays. A lot of the time, there were other brothers there as well, but today it was just the three of them. Sometimes Isabelle was there as well, given she was just an extended version of the Silver Demons, like Clary and her mother were. Her and Isabelle had been running around together since they were in diapers, they had been inseparable as teenagers and now they were living together.

"So who you screwing these days, then?" Valentine asked abruptly and Clary made a face.

"Did you know that in polite society, fathers don't ask their daughters that?" She told him with a roll of her eyes. "Actually, they go out of their way not to know that. At all. _Ever_."

"Guess I'm not polite society," he shrugged, giving her a mock pained laugh before letting out a laugh that came right from his stomach. "But I will threaten any man that you date with a shot gun, if that helps. That's normal, right?"

"No, no, no," Clary shook her head. "Fathers usually _joke_ about doing that. They don't actually bring a shot gun." He didn't look at all bothered by this, and she let out a laugh. "Soups good, mum. I think I'm gonna head off soon."

"That's fine, babe," Jocelyn smiled over at her. "You want seconds?"

"Yes," the red head nodded at her mother. Jocelyn stood up and reached over the table to pick up her daughters bowl, as well as her partners, and walked around the table to head toward the kitchen. Valentine reached out and slapped her ass she walked past, and she rolled her eyes over her shoulder at him.

"You guys are gross, you know that?" Clary said and Valentine just grinned, leaning over to pinch her cheek and ruffle her hair. "Ohmygod, you need to stop doing that now. I'm not five anymore."

"You'll always be our baby girl," Jocelyn cooed as she came back and dropped a kiss to Clary's head.

"Hey, where's Jon?" Clary frowned. Usually her brother was late for family lunch, but his stomach always lead him back at some point. It was now almost one thirty, and there was no sign of the elder Morgenstern sibling.

"He's just finished a run," Valentine responded.

"Ah, makes sense," Clary nodded as she picked up her spoon and started eating her freshly filled bowl of soup. Valentine and Jocelyn started talking about something that was going to happen next week at the shop. She really didn't care about cars or motorbikes, even though she had been around them all her life. But she knew that guys looked hot on bikes, and she liked the ones that made a grunty rev when she pressed down harder on the accelerator. _Ride_ was a string of auto-body shops that were spread through this town and the next few, all run by Silver Demons.

"Oi, babe!" Valentine reached over and pulled at a strand of her hair to get her attention.

"What?" Clary blinked at her father.

"I said," he rolled his eyes at her. "Can you come in a little earlier tomorrow? We've got a big stock order coming in and I need you to be there to help sort through."

"Translation," Clary tilted her head to the side as she looked over at him. " _Sebastian_ is going to be there to put the stock away, and you want me to go in early to bat my eyelashes and pout my pretty little mouth because you want me and him to get together and pop out a bunch of blonde haired, freckle faced munchkins." Jocelyn snorted across the table and Clary grinned over the table.

"What can I say?" Valentine shrugged. "You're getting old, girl. I want some kids before you're too old to get knocked up."

"I'm _twenty-three_ ," she reminded him with a roll of her own eyes. It was clearly a family thing, she looked very similar to her mother when she did it. "Anyway, I—"

"What up, bitch?" Came a crow from the doorway and Clary spun around to look over to where her brother was coming in. Jonathon Fairchild-Morgenstern was coming in, dressed in a pair of a jeans, a dark hoodie and a leather cut, with a patch announcing _Silver Demons_ and a smaller stitch underneath it, announcing _Vice President_. Clary let out a squeal as she jumped up from her seat and ran over to her big brother. He grinned as he easily picked her up with one arm and planted a kiss to her cheek. "Miss me?"

"It's only been a week, dork," Clary tried to cover up her excitement with a shrug as he put her back on the ground. She stood a good few feet shorter than her brother, and while Clary took after her mother like wise, Jonathon took after their father. He was built like their father as well; tall with big muscles, and an ever confident smirk on his face.

"No problems out there, son?" Valentine asked, getting up from the table to come over and sling an arm around the younger mans neck and bringing him in for a one armed hug.

"Nah, nah, we were fine," Jon shrugged, although there was a tightness in his expression that Clary was curious about. It quickly cleared, though, when he looked down at the table. "Anyway, we're pretty damn hungry, mum. Is it all good if the boys come in?" Jocelyn raised an eyebrow as another head poked through the door and gave her a hopeful look.

"As if you boys were waiting for an answer," Jocelyn muttered, but there was a grin on her face and three men flooded into the kitchen, all in similar dress to Jon. One of them was Sebastian Verlac, who gave Clary a long look as he passed by the table and headed into the kitchen to grab a bowl. Clary just rolled her eyes back to her bowl of soup, scooping more up with her spoon and swallowing it down.

The quiet atmosphere had quickly dissolved into boisterous and loud as the boys all crowded around the long, wooden table. But that was normal. While Sunday lunch was family time, as in, specifically the Fairchild-Morgenstern family, pretty much any other time was _Silver Demons_ family time.

And the noise was normal when it came to them.

Clary finished her lunch and pushed it to the middle of the table as she looked around. The boys were tucking into their food, talking through mouthfuls of bread, swearing like sailors and telling dirty jokes. She couldn't stop the smile that curled her lips upward as her mother looked over at her and gave her a grin. Jon was in the seat next to her, and he reached over to ruffle her hair and chuck her on the chin and she rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

This was her family.

They were loud, and they were crude, and they acted far outside the socially acceptable rules.

But that didn't matter.

Because they were hers.

"Love you, daddy," she murmured, leaning over and kissing Valentine quickly on the cheek. She picked up her bowl, checked that no one else had any dishes, and then headed into the kitchen. The windows over the sink looked out over the front yard. Her car was parked in the drive way, and then there were bikes set up all around it, standing proud just like the boys who drove them. She was about to turn around and head back into the dining room when Sebastian came in, raising his eyebrows in greeting to her. "Heard you were looking for me last night," she stated.

"Thought we could go out for a drink," he shrugged.

"You thought wrong," Clary pursed her lips. "Such a pity." He shook his head, a grin on his lips, and looked as though he was about to say something when there was the sound of an engine outside. She looked out the window and smiled when she saw Maryse Lightwood's car pulling up at the curb outside their house. "Sorry, pal," she gave him a tight, clearly insincere smile before bouncing out of the room. "Mari's here, mum," she said as she walked through the dining room and headed toward the front door. She pulled it open before there was even a knock and Maryse gave her a wide smile.

"Hey, babe," Maryse leaned in to give the girl a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Aunty Mari," Clary gave her a kiss back. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Who do you think I am?" The woman asked. "I live with your Uncle Rob—we've already had lunch two times over."

"Mum made chicken soup," Clary sung out as she lead that way into the dining room.

"Well," Maryse shrugged. "Maybe I have room for more."

"Afternoon, Maryse!" Valentine called from the table.

"Hey, Mari," came a round of greetings from around the table, the boys all getting up individually as a show of respect for one of the old ladies of their brotherhood, giving her hugs and kisses on the cheek.

"I hear you have your famous chicken soup on the stove?" Maryse called over to Jocelyn who grinned as she stood up from the table.

"It's a good thing I always cook for an army," the red head said as she lead the way into the kitchen. Maryse and Clary followed after as she started pouring another bowl of soup. "Hey, Maryse, did Rob tell you about the dinner and drinks next Friday?"

"Sure did. I called the catering company last night. They're going to have everything ready by six, we can pick everything up and then have it all ready by sevenish," Maryse replied.

"What's happening?" Clary asked, looking between the two older woman.

"One of the other charters are coming through," Jocelyn replied.

"Ooh," Clary grinned, her eyebrows raising in approval. "A charter party. Sounds like fun." Jocelyn smiled at her, before turning back to the stove and tucking her hair behind her ear. It was only a brief flash, but Clary caught a glimpse of a bruise on her neck. She pursed her lips together and looked over at Maryse, who had seen the mark as well. She shook her head once at Clary, and the younger girl let out a sigh through her nose, keeping her mouth shut.

 _So this is my last update for the year. I'm taking some time from now until after New Years because I've got five weeks of training at work, plus two 21st's, plus a concert, plus Christmas and New Years_ — _just insanely busy in general! But I love you all so much, and pretty please leave a review, as an early Christmas present to me, and I'll send you a preview, along with lots of my love._

 _I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you guys for making my year great, and I hope that my stories have helped you all to escape reality for just a few minutes xxxx_


	3. Chapter 3

_Okay! So the original plan was to not update until next year. But the thing is;_ of course _I kept on writing, but I was just focussing on a bunch of prompts and ideas that I've had written down for quite some time. And now I've ended up with an overloaded documents folder and also a bunch of personal messages and reviews asking for a speedy update, so here we go! I'm updating now, and will resume normal updating from the 01/02/2016. I hope you guys had an amazing Christmas, and have an incredible New Year! On with the story, and I apologize for any mistakes made;_

The clubhouse was throbbing with life. There was a music coming from the speakers and there were shouts and laughter coming from the brothers inside. There were girls dancing on top of the pool table and on the bar top, and there were men gawking at them, tongues practically hanging out of their mouths. The president from the visiting gang and Valentine were sitting on the couch in the centre of the room, their legs propped up on the wooden table in front of them and beers in their hands. There was a girl who looked about nineteen sitting on the lap of the visiting president, her hands pawing at his hair and leaving kisses down his neck. Jocelyn was flitting back and forth, most of the time standing with Maryse by the bar or with a few of the other old ladies, sometimes going over to Valentine to replace to beer in his hand.

"You look gorgeous tonight, Rissa," Sebastian murmured, leaning in close to Clary as he appeared silently behind her. It wasn't hard to creep up on someone when the atmosphere was deafening, but Clary senses were well attuned. She could smell Sebastian's scent pretty much the second he had stepped up behind her.

"Thanks," she said off handedly, taking another long pull from the beer in her hand. Sebastian was drinking bourbon and she could smell it on his breath as he exhaled. "Are you hanging around here for something or...?" She let her sentence trail off as she glanced back over her shoulder at him.

"I was thinking that maybe we could head out the back, by the bonfire," Sebastian said with a raise of his fair coloured eyebrows.

"There is no bonfire tonight," Clary stated.

"Well, we could start one, and sit out there," he murmured with a pointed smirk.

"Look, you realize what happened was a one time thing, right?" Clary finally said, turning around to face him. Sebastian didn't look put off by her comment, and just shrugged and grinned at her.

"It happened a lot more than once," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but that's all it was. We were just fucking," she said.

"It was good," he said, nudging her in the side. Clary stared at him for a long minute, her head tilted to the side as she regarded the handsome man. She didn't _not_ like Sebastian. She had her reservations about his character, but he was a good way to pass time. She had grown up around him, just like she had with all the other men in the brotherhood. Him and his father had moved away when she was about ten, joining another charter for a few years, and then returning when she was fifteen. Maybe she had had a little bit of a thing for him at one point, and a few months ago, after she no longer had Jace and got tired of her own hand keeping her company, they had fallen into bed together. Well, into bed...On top of the kitchen bench top...In Isabelle's favourite armchair.

But she wasn't looking for anything serious.

And if she was, it wasn't going to be with Sebastian. He was definitely one of the people in the club who had a dangerous streak that ran through them. She had seen him beat men half to death with a smile on his face, and then come over to her and ask her how her day was going.

She just wanted something to distract her thoughts and make her feel good for a short while.

"Yeah," she agreed with him, her eyes dropping to his arms, which were only covered by the short sleeves of his shirt that he was wearing underneath his leather cut. "Okay, well, maybe later then, yeah?" She told him, knowing that she would be a lot more into the idea after a couple of drinks. And hey, maybe it would get him off her back for a while. Besides, it really _was_ good. "Izzy!" She called as she caught a glimpse of her best friend across the club house.

"Hey, babe," Isabelle was drunk, as usual, but Clary didn't have to drag her sorry ass home that night, so she was okay with that. Simon gave his girlfriend a quick kiss, before walking over to join Alec and Max Lightwood who were standing at the pool table, drinks in their hands and girls hanging off their every word. "I haven't seen you all week," Isabelle noted as she opened her mouth to drink from the straw that was in her cup. The straw kept slipping though, and so the girl sort of just looked like an idiot, chasing the pink piece of plastic with her mouth wide open. Clary rolled her eyes and bit back a laugh as she swallowed more of her beer.

"Yeah, well, that's not really my fault is it," she noted with a smirk. "Given you've been shacked up at lover boys all week." Isabelle pouted at her.

"Aw, is my widdle Clary jealous?" She mocked lightly and Clary pulled the fingers at her.

"Shut up, bitch," she laughed and Isabelle grinned.

"I see you've got Seb's eye again," the dark haired girl lifted her eyebrows in the direction of the blonde, who was talking with one of his friends, but his eyes were still on the red head. Clary shrugged as she looked back at Isabelle and started tapping her fingers against her bottle of beer nervously. "What's going on?" Clary took in a deep breath and then stepped closer to Isabelle, tilting her head forward so that it was brushing against her friends.

"Jace is back," she mumbled, her voice barely audible over the sound of the shouting and the music. But she knew that Isabelle heard him, because she stiffened and jerked her head away from the straw of her drink.

"Jace?" Isabelle hissed, suddenly looking extremely sober as she looked around the room to make sure no one was close enough to hear them. "As in hot as shit, Devils Jace?" Isabelle reiterated, even though she really didn't need to. Clary nodded anyway, straightening up and rolling her shoulders as she tightened the grip of her fingers around the neck of her beer. "What the fuck? When did this happen?"

"You know when I dropped you off at Simon's the other night?" Clary muttered. "He came and saw me then."

"Wait, he was back? As in; _back in this town_?" Isabelle growled. "For fucks sakes, Clare, that's not good. That's fucking bad."

"Yeah, I know that, don't I?" Clary snapped. Isabelle pursed her lips together and Clary sighed. "I sent him packing, told him there was nothing going on between us anymore."

"There shouldn't have _ever_ been anything going on between you two," Izzy grumbled. " _Ever_." Simon was walking back over to them, and they quickly schooled their expressions, trying not to give anything away. Simon was pretty drunk, so he was easy enough to fool as he told Isabelle that they were going to go outside and get a bonfire started. Alec came over a few seconds after, giving his sister and his presidents daughter a kiss on the cheek before following after the smaller guy. "Okay, you need to make sure you never see him again, you hear me, Clare?"

"I know that, Iz," Clary sighed. "I took care of it." Isabelle was still giving her an untrusting look and she rubbed her hand over her head. "Look, I'm going out for some air. I'll see you soon, okay?" Isabelle just glared at her as the girl put down her bottle of beer and headed out the back, after the boys. Simon, Alec and two other brothers were throwing wood together into the pit, laughing and drunkenly talking amongst themselves. Clary walked around the side of the building so that she was relatively alone, and she pulled her lighter and pack of cigarette's out of her back pocket, slipping one between her lips and lighting it up. There was a crackle in the bushes beside her and she frowned, realizing that she wasn't by herself as she squinted into the bushes.

As soon as the fire was roaring to life, the golden light illuminated the dark bushes that were behind her as she puffed on her cigarette. Her nose wrinkled as she saw her brother, taking some girl from behind. The girl was pretty much naked, her tits swinging back and forth as he viciously pounded into her.

"Fucking hell," she muttered, walking back around to the back of the building where the boys were stoking the bonfire, throwing sticks and glasses of whiskey. It wasn't the first time she had seen her brother having sex, and it definitely wasn't going to be the last. They didn't live in the same world as everyone else, where sex was a private thing, only to be shared between two people. Ever since she was five years old, she knew that they way they lived wasn't normal, but she didn't care.

It was dirty, and it was rough, but it was home.

"Hey, my favourite red head," Alec slurred as he slung an arm around her neck.

"Don't let my mum hear you say that," Clary joked lightly. He held out his hand to her, and she passed over her cigarette. He took a puff and then handed it back to her. They stood their in the quiet for a couple more minutes, until the cigarette was gone and Clary dropped it to the ground and stubbed it out with the tip of her shoe. "Where's your man at tonight?"

"You're kidding, right?" Alec muttered, swallowing hard as he looked out to where there were more of his brothers were now surrounding the bonfire. "As if I'm ever gonna bring here." Clary sighed as she nestled in closer to the man she viewed like a blood brother.

"Things aren't as same as they were ten years ago, when we were just little, Alec," Clary murmured, keeping her voice low because she knew the need for secrecy regarding Alec's sexuality. "I think that you'd be fine. You just need to make sure you talk to Rob, Mari and my dad about it first." Alec pursed his lips together, and Clary knew that he wasn't going to talk about it any further. "Alright, well, I think I'm going to head back inside."

"You gonna go hook up with Seb?" Alec smirked at her and she rolled her eyes, poking out her tongue before jogging up the steps to the club house. "You know there's better guys to be screwing around with; _nicer_ guys!" He added, even though he knew that she wouldn't listen to his advice.

"Go fuck yourself," she called over her shoulder as she dodged around two drunk slags. They were only wearing their bras now, one of them stripped down to her underwear while the other was in a pair of denim cut off shorts. They jerked upward when they saw her, respectfully dodging around her but their faces not looking too happy about it. Her eyes drifted right over them, not looking at them particularly hard. She wasn't friends with any of the girls like them, they were literally only there to be fucked and to help clean up the club house the next day.

"Hey, baby," Valentine said to her as he and Jocelyn walked through the doorway, heading out toward the bonfire. Clary smiled at him, letting him pull at her hair like he had been doing since she was a kid, and then kissing her mum on the cheek. Max, the youngest Lightwood and the current prospect in the Silver Demons, was behind the bar, his arms braced against bar as a girl who was on her knees sucked him off. The rest of the place was like an orgy, and Clary watched two girls make out on top of the low wooden in the middle of the room, five or six men surrounding them and ogling. Eric Hillchurch, one of Simon's best friends, wrapped his hand around one of the girls wrist and jerked her off the table, kissing her hard on the mouth. The girl pretty much climbed him like a tree, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her out of the main area and into one of the back rooms.

The atmosphere all made her blood bubble and her skin tingle, and she searched the room, wondering where Sebastian was. She had heard Alec's warning; hell, she didn't need his warning. But she did need someone to get her off, or at least, she would prefer someone to get her off so that her hand didn't need to do the work. She was about to go back outside to look for him when her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She pulled it out and swiped her finger over the screen, blinking a couple of times to clear away the slightly blurred words on the line.

 _I need to see you_.

She bit down on her lower lip and swallowed hard.

 _Soooo? What you guys think? Leave me a few pretty words and I'll send you a preview?_

 _Hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, guys! Happy New Year! So regular updating will happen from the first of February, but I got this one written so figured I would throw it up here :) I have updated my profile and have my updating schedule there if you guys want to check it out. Anyway, on with the story!_

She really shouldn't drive.

She hadn't had too much to drink, but she was definitely over the limit.

"Where do you think you're going?" Isabelle slurred, stumbling over to Clary as she saw her friend rummaging around in her bag, her drink nowhere in sight.

"I forgot something in my car," Clary muttered.

"You sure?" Izzy lifted an eyebrow. "You're not running off to some booty call?" Her eyes drifted over to where Sebastian was standing near the front door, a tumbler of whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Clary glanced over her shoulder at him, realizing that excuse was as good as any, and she shrugged.

"Maybe," she replied with a wry smile. Isabelle looked convinced and leaned down to press a wet kiss to the corner of Clary's mouth.

"Okay, babe, I'll see you later," she said, turning around and disappearing back into the crowd of skanks and MC brothers. Clary found her keys and did another double check over her shoulder, to make sure no one was watching her, and quickly left the club house. She was a little worried that Sebastian might follow her, but he didn't, and she got to her car unnoticed.

She had a plan.

She would go and get this over with Jace. Clearly pulling a gun on him and then almost breaking his nose wasn't enough to tell him that she wanted nothing to do with him. She text him back, asked where he was, and he had sent back her address.

Where she lived.

Where she hadn't lived when her and Jace were together last.

Boy had been doing his homework.

Was it wrong that it made her feel a little tingly, knowing that he had been keeping eyes on her?

Clary drove home with her window all the way down, knowing that she needed to sober up as much as possible before facing her ex-boyfriend. When she pulled up outside her and Isabelle's home, she noted that it looked exactly the same as when she had left; the lights all out, curtains drawn and front door closed and locked. Even if the girls didn't lock their windows or doors, it would be pretty much suicide breaking into the home of two girls who were pretty much MC royalty.

Clearly Jace didn't get the memo.

Clary slid out of her car and pressed the button on the remote, her lights flashing and the car letting out a beep, indicating that it was locked. She licked her tongue over her mouth as she stared at her house. She really hadn't been thinking too hard about this on her way over, mainly she was thinking about the end game, and the fact that she needed to tell him to fuck off and get out of town. But she hadn't thought about the fact she was going to walk into the house and see Jace again. On purpose.

Without even really thinking, she bent down to look at her reflection in the side view mirror of her car, fiddling with her hair, running her fingers through the strands to keep it tamed around her heart shaped face and rubbing at where her eyeliner had run slightly. Then she straightened up, rolled her shoulders determinedly, and headed toward the house.

"Jace?" Clary called out as she walked inside her house, glancing around. Her and Isabelle had been raised by bikers, and there were guns and knives stashed over the house. She took a couple steps toward the hallway table, pulling open the drawer and reaching inside to pick up the gun, but there was nothing there.

"Already found your guns, Red," came a call from the kitchen. She made a face and stalked down the hallway, entering their dining room which was all part of the same room as their kitchen, where she spotted Jace leaning against the bench. She flicked on one lot of lights, the ones that lit up the dining room but only slightly the kitchen, and took a few steps closer.

"If you've broken a window or something to get in here, I will bite your fingers off," she promised him with a menacing tone to her voice.

"Aw, come on, Red," Jace teased her, not sounding at all worried by her tone. "I'm better than that. You're going to have to come up with some other reason to get my fingers in you." Clary's expression was not impressed, her eyes narrowing just a little bit more as she continued to glare at him. "I think we need to talk."

"No, I'm actually pretty sure we don't," Clary spat back at him. "But, since you're so detemined to do this; I'll repeat what I said before. You need to leave me alone and get out of my town."

"Your town?" Jace moved out of shadows so that she could see him in the dim lights from the lounge. Clary felt her whole body clench up as she saw him again, a heat flushing over her cheeks as she had to tilt her head backwards slightly so that she could keep eye contact as he moved closer. He had gotten a few inches taller since when they were dating, clearly he had his last growth spurt late. That thought then made her mind wander to whether or not some other parts of him had grown since they had last seen each other, but she blinked quickly to look back up at him.

"This is the Silver Demons' town, Jace," she told him steadily. "You know that. That's why your bike is hidden around back and you're sneaking in here at midnight."

"I wanted to see you," Jace shrugged, not looking at all apologetic.

"For fucks sakes, Jace," Clary let out a hiss through clenched teeth, her calm exterior breaking as her frustration rose. She had a temper like her father and her mother, which was a bad mix, but the only person capable of getting under her skin within a couple of seconds was Jace. "Look, what do you want, Jace?!" She snapped, her hand lifting to her hair and running through the thick strands. "Why are you here?"

"I needed to talk to you," Jace repeated. "And I needed to see you."

"Why?" She gritted out.

"Because I miss you," he said bluntly, and it felt like the wind was being punched out of her. Just those simple words, and Clary felt her whole body react. He continued, not waiting for her to recover from his statement before finishing what he had wanted to say. "I miss you so fucking much, Clarissa. I've been away for four years, and I just wanted to be back with you the whole time. I couldn't stay away anymore. I wanted to be back with you. I haven't gone through and thought out every single detail, but all I know is that I want you, Clary," he told her firmly.

"Jace—you can't—Jace," she stammered out, her brain still not functioning properly. "People could literally end up _dead_ if we start something right now. We're on two different sides!"

"It was serious before, Red," Jace reminded her. "And being on opposite sides never stopped us."

"We were kids before, Jace," Clary implored him, stepping closer unconsciously. "We were young and stupid, and we were lucky that we got a clean break from that!"

"A clean break?" Jace snorted. "You know as well as I do that it was not a clean break last time." He stepped closer to her, so that now they were practically nose to nose. Clary swallowed visibly and his eyes dipped down, skating over her cheeks and her neck, dropping lower to her cleavage before looking back up and meeting her eyes. His gaze had turned lustful, blinking his eyelashes as golden met green, and he tugged his lower lip into his mouth, enjoying the way Clary's eyes stared at his mouth heatedly. "Come on, Clary..." his voice dropped down to a husky leave. "At least one last time for old times sake."

"You're kidding, right?" Clary snorted, attempting to coming off as unaffected by the way he was looking and talking to her. Jace's hand came up and rested on her hip, his heat burning through the thin material of her dress. "There's never a 'one last time' when it comes to us, remember?" She was starting to crumble, he could see it in her face, and he spread his fingers, so that his hand was spanning her hip and edging down her thigh.

"Do you remember that time at your high school graduation?" Jace leaned in so close to her that his breath was playing across her lips.

"You were _so_ not meant to be there," she muttered, but her mouth was pulling upwards at the corners in a part smile. Jace leaned his head even further forward, to the side so that his lips were next to her ear, his nose nudging at the bridge of her ear and his mouth skimming over her lobe.

"You were pretty much naked under your graduation robe," he continued with a grin as he felt a shiver run through her. "Except for that blue and black matching bra and panties set that I gave you for your birthday..." there was another shiver and Jace knew that he was close. Close to having her. He slid his hand around her waist, down to her ass, palming at it slowly and softly, not wanting to push her too hard. "You looked _so_. _Fucking_. _Hot_ when you bent over your English teachers desk," he growled into her ear, his hand tightening on her ass, giving it a hard squeeze.

She let out a moan from the back of her throat and launched herself at Jace, who caught her with open arms. Their mouths crashed together, and his tongue pushed past her lips and into the hot, waiting cavern of her mouth. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, her skirt pushed up her thighs and bunched around her hips as he walked them backwards, away from the light in the dining room and into the shadows of the kitchen. They stumbled toward the bench, where he rested her down so that his hands could touch more than just where he was holding her around the waist.

"Fuck, Clary," he mumbled as his hands brushed over her cheeks, cupping her face for a moment before continuing his descent down her body. She lifted her ass up from the cold surface of the bench for a second, letting him push her dress all the way up her thighs, his fingers sinking into the plump skin of her ass and jerking her in closer to him. They simultaneously groaned as their centres were aligned, and despite the fabric that was between them, Jace knew that she was wet right through her underwear. Their kisses were frantic as she scrabbled with his shirt, their lips parting for a mere second as she pulled it over his head and threw it to the ground, her hands dropping to his belt. "Fuck...Baby, you're still so fucking perfect," he whispered to her as the kisses grew sloppy and she broke away from his mouth to reach out and press her lips to his shoulder. Her teeth brushed over his collarbone, biting lightly and making him hiss. Jace hooked his fingers around the edge of her underwear and pulled it down roughly, two fingers sinking inside of her wet heat.

"Oh, God..." Clary's lips dropped from Jace's skin, her back arching violently as his thumb found her clit and circled it quickly. "Oh..." her whole body was vibrating, her fingers curling into his skin as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge. It only took him seconds before he had her spilling over his palm, letting out a long, breathy sigh. "Jace..."

"Shit, you're beautiful," Jace murmured, pulling back so that he could see her face. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were partly closed. He waited until they opened fully and focused back on him, before he was pushing down his jeans and gripping her hips again. Clary's eyes never moved from his as he pushed inside of her, his cock stretching wide and pulling out a whine from deep inside Clary.

"Fuck," she cried out as she began to move with him.

"Cum again with me, baby," he whispered, harsh against her ear as he pounded into her. "Come on, Red."

 _So? Let me know what you guys think. Just a few words make all the stress and time that goes into this worth while xx_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys! So did we all enjoy the last chapter? Thanks to everyone who reviewed and let me know what you thought. On with the chapter! Oh and the song used as Clary's alarm in this chapter is_ Whore _by In This Moment. One of my favourite songs of all time._

Clary vaguely remembered Jace carrying her to bed, and pushing a kiss to her lips, mumbling something against her mouth about seeing her again soon before he disappeared. She fell asleep in her bed, her pillow hugged to her body and her head buried. Her body felt satisfied and sated, a feeling that she hadn't had in so long, she couldn't even remember the last time she felt like that. She slept well into the next morning, and it wasn't until her alarm started screaming out _Whore_ that she woke up, blinking blearily at the phone that was on the ground next to the shoes she wore last night.

"What the fuck?" She mumbled, her throat and mouth feeling incredibly dry. She snatched up her phone and squinted at the time, letting out a groan as she realized that it was just after nine in the morning. Usually she didn't work on Saturday's, but there was a big order coming into work and the boys couldn't be trusted to make sure everything was there before signing off on the delivery. "Fuck my life," she growled as she ran her hand over her face, wiping at her eyes. Clary lay there for another few seconds before forcing herself to roll out of bed and stand on unsteady legs. She stretched, feeling a dull, comforting ache in the pit of her stomach and her eyes flashed open. "Shit!"

The events of last night flooded back and she was stumbling toward the bathroom, eyes wide as she fell in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her eye makeup had created dark rings and her lipstick was all smudged, but what stood out was the dark purple mark on her collarbone.

That ache in her stomach, caused the damn good fucking that she got last night, was going to disappear pretty damn soon and be replaced with nauseous, tumultuous turn of a hangover setting in.

"Oh for God's sakes," she hissed. "A hickey?!"

That was going to be a good time to explain to anyone who saw.

It was a hot day, and there was no way she was going to be able to get away with wearing a jersey, and she really didn't own anything high cut. Clary rummaged around in Isabelle's room, her nose screwed up in disgust at the complete mess that her friend left it in, emerging triumphant when she found a high neck, sleeveless shirt. She paired it together with a pair of silk mini shorts and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, happy that it didn't look as though she was trying to hide anything.

She scrubbed her face clean, redoing her make up and spraying dry shampoo through her hair, tugging her fingers through and trying to make it look less like she had just had the daylights screwed out of her only hours before.

Jace should be the last thing on her mind right now.

After popping a couple of panadol, and washing it down with half a bottle of juice, Clary was out the door and on her way to work. _Ride_ was only about a ten minute drive from her house, and soon she was pulling into her park right outside the office. The place was still completely silent and looked desolate, which wasn't surprising. They were only open through the week, and the couple of boys who were meant to come over and give her a hand unpacking the shipment weren't due for another hour or so. They would probably still be trying to recover from their hangover, or stumbling around, looking for their pants.

One or the other.

All week, Clary had told herself that she was going to work today. She was going to get the shipment in, log it into the computer, and then get the payroll out of the way, so that she only needed to come in for half a day next Friday. But now, sitting in front of the computer, her eyes were blurring and her head kept tipping forward.

"You look like shit," came a statement from the doorway. Clary looked up to see Sebastian standing there, looking as ruffled and perfect as he always did in jeans, shirt and his cut, his blonde hair tumbling over his forehead and dropping in front of one eye.

"Thanks, Seb," Clary replied curtly as she readjusted the sunglasses she was wearing, even though she was inside. "That's what every girl wants to hear."

"Where did you head off to last night?" He continued, watching her from the doorway of the room.

"I went home," she looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "You got a problem with that?"

"Just seemed kind of abrupt," he shrugged.

"I'm sure you had no trouble finding some girl to warm your bed," Clary looked back at the computer, bringing up the payroll application and typing in her password. "You've never had any trouble with that before."

"Aw, don't be like that, doll face," Sebastian sent her a smirk. "You know you're my favourite."

"Lucky me," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Look, the delivery truck is going to be here any minute. Who's helping you with bringing everything in?"

"Simon," Sebastian answered, although he didn't look too happy about it. They were all meant to be brothers, but there was always going to be a little bit of competition between them. In this case, it was Clary. Clary was good friends with Simon. Simon hadn't grown up in the brotherhood like she and a lot of the others had. He was actually on the fast track to being one of the youngest kids admitted into MIT until he realized that it wasn't actually what he wanted to do. His parents were high achievers, along with his sister, and there was so much pressure for him to follow in their footsteps.

He had dropped out of his high school, started hanging around with the 'wrong crowd', which consisted of Alec, Eric, Isabelle and Clary. It wasn't too long before he realized that this 'wrong crowd' was the one family he had been craving. He went through the channels of becoming a prospect and now he was a fully fledged member of the Silver Demons. He was going steady with Isabelle and Clary considered him to be one of her best friends.

Sebastian, on the other hand, had always been in the life. His father had been best friends with Valentine and was killed a few years ago when there was a gun fight between the Silver Demons and a rival gang. Sebastian was already a part of the Demons and proving his worth, and he had retaliated by killing four men from the rival gang. When she was younger, and he was a few years older than her, she had a bit of a crush. But it had faded, and then things with Jace had happened, and now she only really paid attention to him when needed. It had caused a little bit of friction between the two brothers, especially before Simon and Isabelle had become an item and Sebastian thought that maybe the boy had a thing for the red head.

"Don't start with me, Seb," Clary muttered, looking out the window as she heard the backfire of a truck. "I'm not the one who chose the people to be working today. You want to bitch and moan, go see your Prez." Sebastian didn't say anything as he came around to her side of the desk, resting back on table top and folding his arms over his chest.

"I wasn't going to bitch and moan," he teased her with a slightly taunting smile. "It's just he's always on time, and I was hoping that we were going to be able to be alone for a little bit longer." Clary snorted and rolled her eyes, and then mentally slapped herself, because her headache was bad enough without making her eyes spin.

"What makes you think I want to be alone with you?" She shot back at him.

"Well, you seemed pretty keen on it last night," he grinned back at her, his eyes gleaming.

"I was drunk and horny," she snapped. "Now I'm hungover, tired, hungry and at work on a fucking Saturday." Sebastian opened his mouth as though to retort, but then there was a roar of another bike outside. Clary looked out the window and was thankful when saw it was Simon. "Can you go find something to entertain yourself with?" She muttered, looking over at Sebastian with a death glare that he could probably feel more than see, given the glasses covering her eyes. He shrugged and headed for the door, just as Simon was walking in. He bumped his shoulder purposefully against the shorter boys before disappearing down the hallway. Simon raised his eyebrows at Clary and she just shrugged.

"Shit, girl," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "You make friends left, right and centre, don't you?"

"I'm fucking lovely, I tell you," she replied, her voice flat. Simon let out a laugh as he sat down in the seat on the other side of the desk.

"Where did you go last night? Izzy said you were going out to your car, and then you never came back."

"Why is everyone so interested in where I went last night?" Clary huffed. "I went home early, is there some kind of law against that?" Simon raised his hands out in front of him, palms upward in a position of no aggression.

"Hey, hey, I only asked."

"Yeah, well, I just went home," Clary muttered. There was a toot outside and Simon stood up.

"That'll be the delivery truck," Simon announced unnecessarily. "I'll grab Seb and head out there." Clary nodding, clicking through the computer to find the list of the order and printed it off, scanning through it before following after Simon. By the time she got out to the main garage area, their delivery man was already standing beside the truck and watching the two boys unload. Clary went to stand next to him, giving him a quick smile before looking down at the packages. She counted them meticulously, opening a couple of the boxes to make sure everything was there, before taking the clip board from the delivery man and signing her name.

"That's great, thanks," she nodded at the man, who bid her farewell before closing up his truck and heading up to the cab. "Can you guys just get all of this put away and then you're fine to go?" Sebastian looked as though he had some smart reply on the tip of his tongue, but her glasses were now propped on top of her head and he saw the narrow eyed look she was giving him, and he pressed his lips together. He gave her a mock, two fingered salute from his forehead before doing what she had asked.

She turned around and headed back into her office, swallowing back some more panadol and then settling into her seat with the sunglasses covering her eyes again. She had been telling herself all week that she was going to work today to make time through the week for her and Isabelle to go shopping, and she wasn't going to bail on that plan now, just because one boy decided to float back into her life.

A little after twelve her phone vibrated, and Clary glared when she saw the name on the screen. Despite her better judgement, she opened the message.

 _You tasted just as good as I remember. Can't wait to see you again Red._

Oh God, she thought to herself. She was so screwed.

 _OMG, by the way; has every seen the new_ Wonder Woman _clips? Does Gal Gadot look like a complete babe, or what?_

 _Please let me know what you think! Your words make me so very, very happy :) Plus, I'll send you a preview :) x_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey, my gorgeous people! I'm back! Thank you so much for your reviews, I'm so glad you're enjoying it. On with the story;_

Something was definitely going on.

Well, something _more_ than Jace being back in the same part of the country. Clary hadn't seen him since their meet up after the club party, and that was good, because that had been enough to cloud up her mind and judgement for the weeks following. But there was something wrong with her club—her family. Her father didn't come into the garage every day, but it was at least a couple times a week, and he usually joked around with his boys, came into see her, sometimes helped them out.

But she hadn't seen her father in a week, and now it was Sunday, and it was supposed to be family lunch as always, but Valentine was nowhere to be seen.

And Jocelyn had a black eye.

Jon gave his sister a pointed look when she came into the house, clearly warning her not to say anything. Clary pursed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at him as she walked into the kitchen, where her mother was pulling out a tray of scones from the oven. She gave her daughter a fleeting smile before looking back to the tray.

"They smell good, mum," Clary said gently, wanting to open a dialogue between them.

"Thanks, babe," Jocelyn muttered. "But they probably don't taste as good."

"They'll be fine," Clary replied. She swallowed hard before continuing, trying to keep her voice as light as possible. "Where's dad?"

"He's, uh," Jocelyn quickly moved over to the sink, hiding her face behind a curtain of red hair. "He's at the clubhouse."

"He's missing family lunch?" Clary asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just drop it, Clarissa," the older woman stated, her tone a little bit harsher. Jon appeared in the doorway at their mothers raised tone and he gave his younger sibling a glare. She glared right back at him before going over to her mother, and touching her arm. "Clarissa," she said warningly.

"Let me do the dishes," Clary said soothingly. "You can finish up lunch." Jocelyn's shoulders relaxed and she nodded, giving Clary a small smile before quickly leaving the room, heading for the dining area. Jon came over to his sister. "You were just going to ignore the black eye?" She hissed at him, her eyes icy. "Fucking coward."

"Hey!" Jon gripped her elbow and spun her around, his eyes angry. "Don't you fucking call me that. You know that stuff like this happens. What happens between a man and his old lady is between—"

"That's bullshit," Clary hissed.

"It's not, and you know it," Jon reminded her stiffly. "She's okay, alright? He was in a bad place last night, and mum being mum wouldn't put up his shit and, well, yeah. She got a black eye." Clary jerked her arm away from him and turned back to the dishes, plunging her hands into the hot soapy water and starting on the first plate. Jon watched her for a moment before sighing in defeat and running a hand over his face. "Clary, don't act like this. You know that I would never let dad do anything to _really_ hurt mum—"

"That's bullshit," Clary repeated. "He's your president before he's your father."

"He's your president too," Jon growled.

"But _she's_ my mother," Clary spat out. "And I don't forget that when someone get's a little pissed off and handsy." The siblings stood in angry silence for a few more minutes, before there was a crash and a bang from the lounge and they both walked toward the room quickly. Luke Garroway was standing there, with Valentine at his side, one arm around his shoulder as he supported the weight of his very drunk president. "Hey, Luke," Clary greeted him. "Just take him to the room."

"Will do, Clarissa," Luke nodded at her and at her brother before lugging him down the hallway. Clary followed after them, despite Jon trying to grab her arm, and he paused as she heard Valentine grunting inside the bedroom. "I'll get you some water, Prez," Luke muttered, coming back out of the room, looking surprised when he saw Clary standing there. He reached behind him to grab the door knob and pulled it shut, looking down at the girl. "Where's your mother?"

"I think she's in the bathroom," Clary murmured, nodding down the hallway.

"Go get your dad some water. He needs it," Luke told her as he walked toward the bathroom. Clary watched as he knocked on the door and said something softly. A moment later, the door opened and he disappeared inside, closing it again behind him.

* * *

"I can't believe you're back," Jordan Kyle said with a grin as he sat down opposite Jace, sliding the second beer in his hand across the table. "It's been, what, four years since you've been back? I don't think I've seen you in at least a year?"

"Yeah, when you and Maia came up to see me," Jace grinned across at his best friend. "How's she doing?" Jordan's smile widened and he wiggled his eyebrows.

"She's knocked up," he replied.

"What?!" Jace gasped, his eyes widened. "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, man," Jordan laughed at Jace's reaction. "Yeah, uh, we haven't really broken the news to everyone yet, but Maia said that it would be fine to tell you."

"Why haven't you told everyone?" Jace asked. "It's awesome news—it is, right? You're happy with it?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Jordan replied with hesitation. "I don't know, there's some twelve week time frame or some shit that women want to get through before they go around and tell everyone." Jace nodded and then reached across the table and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Yeah, yeah," he laughed. "I'm pretty stoked, to be honest. We weren't planning it or anything, but a month or so ago she started feeling and she took a test. Uh," he scratched at his head. "It's actually pretty good that you're back, because we wanted you to be the godfather."

"Godfather," Jace snorted. "I don't know if that's the best terminology for people in our line of life," he grinned and Jordan rolled his eyes.

"Whatever—you know what I meant."

"I'd be honoured," Jace tapped the neck of his bottle against Jordan's and lifted it up. "I'll take the kid to his first stripper club and get him his first tattoo."

"And if it's a girl?" Jordan laughed.

"Then I'll take her to her first stripper club and get her _her_ first tattoo," he grinned in response.

"You realize you'll have Maia to contend with on all fronts, right?" Jordan smirked.

"Uh," Jace's cocky smile faltered slightly and then he shrugged. "We'll figure out the semantics later."

"I'm sure we can," Jordan nodded. "Anyway, back to you. Why are you back?" Jace's smile dropped completely and he licked his lower lip with a shrug. "Has it got something to do with that mystery girl that you spent pretty much every spare second you had when you were here before?" The blonde shrugged and he took a long drink from his beer bottle. "Come on, man. You told me you were going to tell me about this girl later on. Four years _is_ later." Jace let out a short laugh, but it didn't sound like a happy one.

"I don't really know what you want me to say, man," Jace shrugged. "She's just a girl."

"You're kidding, right?" Jordan gave him an exasperated look. "You were in love with her, and I've known you all my life—you've never been in love with anyone."

"I didn't love her," Jace muttered but Jordan snorted and didn't look as though he believed him for a second.

"Bullshit," Jordan replied. "You were fucking in love. As in head over heels, blushing whenever someone mentioned her, ran away when she ditched your sorry ass _in love_." Jace took in a deep breath through his nose and swallowed back more of his beer. One of the busty waitresses came over to the boys, smiling widely at them as she saw the patches on their jackets, leaning forward purposefully so that her cleavage was on full display. Jordan ordered them another round, as well as two whiskey-based shots. When she left, he looked back to Jace. "Come on. Are you back here to get with her again? Or are you really just back here for the club?"

"Just for the club?" Jace made a face. "What do you mean _just_ for the club? This is my family."

"And we always _will_ be your family, no matter where you are," Jordan fired back. "Just like that other charter became your family when you were up there."

"Okay, so..." Jace groaned. "Maybe I'm back for her then. Maybe I'm back to see if there is anything there, or if my heads just all fucked up over a teenage crush." Jordan nodded a couple of times, but kept quiet as the waitress came back with their drinks, sliding them over and saying that it was on the house, before shooting one last sultry look at the pair of them and then walking back to the bar.

"Does that mean you're going to bring her around?"

"Uh, not really," Jace gave a one shouldered shrug, searching for some excuse. "She's not really...I'm not ready for that yet," he said lamely.

"Alright, whatever, man," Jordan said. "Well, have you talked to your dad since being back?"

"Yeah, of course," Jace answered. "That was my first stop."

"No, I mean, have you really talked to him since you've been back. As in, proper club business," Jordan's voice dropped as he leaned in closer and crossed his arms on the table top. Jace frowned and leaned in as well, so that their conversation wouldn't carry. "There's something going on, man. Something that involves the Silver Demons and the Mongrels." Jace felt his body seize up at the mention of Clary's fathers club. "We haven't really talked about it all too much, but I thought that maybe the Prez would have said something to you."

"He'd be saying something to his VP before me," Jace reminded him.

"Aren't you taking that position back?" Jordan asked.

"You know that's not really how this works. I'm not here to make trouble or any of that shit," Jace shrugged. "I'm not too sure my uncle would be keen on stepping down."

"You never know," Jordan replied. "I know where my vote lies."

"Thanks, man," Jace grinned and slapped his hand down on Jordan's shoulder. "So anyway, let's get back to Maia. How's she—"

"Jace!" Came a shout from the doorway, and he turned around to see Nathaniel Gray in the doorway, some girl on his arm. "What the fuck are you doing back?" Jace laughed at the glaze over the mans eyes, probably created from a mixture of drugs, alcohol and sex, all of Nate's vices.

"I'm back for good, brother!" Jace shouted across the crowded bar and Nate let out a whoop. He said something to the girl he was with and gave her a wet kiss on the mouth, before pulling away and slapping her hard on the ass and walking over to where they were sitting. "Good to know some things never change," he noted and Nate laughed, wiping at his mouth which was still glossy from the girls lipstick.

"Never gonna change," he grinned. "Now, brother, we need to get drunk!"

 _I know, I know, no Clace in this one, but I feel as though you guys were spoilt with a pretty damn early on sex scene ;) Haha. Don't worry, more is coming! Let me know what you think, your previews make me very,_ very _happy, and I'll send you out a preview :) xx_

 _Oooooooh, did you guys see the_ Grease Live _performance? How kickass was V Hudgens as Rizzo? Rizzo was always my fave, and I was a little worried about her acting her part, but she did incredible._

 _What ya guys got planned for Valentines Day next weekend, huh? Me and my hubby are all about_ Deadpool _and burgers. Might even get some beers, all romantic like ;)_


	7. Chapter 7

_You guys seem to be enjoying this? Yes? Please excuse any mistakes, my editing isn't exactly up to par._

Clary was in a shitty mood.

Valentine was still in some black hole, dragging his VP down with him. All of the brothers knew that something was wrong, but Clary wasn't sure if they knew exactly what the problem was. She had tried talking to Jon, but he wasn't saying anything to her, which wasn't particularly unusual. While she came from the family of the president of the club, and that held quite a high position compared to most woman, it didn't give her the right to the knowledge.

She had gone by to check on her mother every day since Sunday, coming up with different excuses each time, even though both she and Jocelyn knew that she was just coming by to make sure there were no more bruises or split lips. Valentine wasn't there, but Luke was, which in and of itself wasn't too unusual. Luke was the VP, and he was incredibly close with the Fairchild-Morgernstern family, although most of the time when he was there, Valentine or Jonathon was around.

"Izzy?" Clary said into her phone, propping her feet up on the desk of her office sliding down in her seat.

"Yeah, babe, what's up?" Her friend replied, speaking a little louder because of the music playing in the background.

"Are you busy?" Clary asked.

"Uh, not particularly," Isabelle answered. "You want to come over?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon," Clary hung up the call and took her feet off the desk. She reached over to her computer and clicked the mouse a couple of times, exiting out of her documents and then logging out of her profile. She picked up her leather jacket and wallet, snatching her keys off the hook by the door and heading outside.

"Where you off too?" Simon called from the other side of the garage, where he was buried up to his elbows in grease rom the engine of the car.

"I'm off to see your girl," Clary sung out in reply with a grin on her face.

"Give her a kiss for me," Simon grinned back.

"Oh, and take a photo of that exchange!" One of the younger boys piped up, appearing all of a sudden at the prospect of some girl on girl action. Clary laughed and pulled the fingers at the kid, heading out into the afternoon sun and walking over to where her car was parked. She hopped inside, turned the air conditioning and volume up. An old Paramore song started playing through the speaker and she nodded her head to the beat as she reversed out of her park and accelerated out of the lot. Isabelle had a similar job to Clary, within the club. Rather than working at one of the garages, she worked at the strip club that the the Silver Demons ran. She ran the books, she kept the girls looking sexy and saucy and the money flowing through the place.

Isabelle was one hell of a woman, and her girls knew that she would always have their back, as long as they respected her and the club.

Clary pulled up outside the building a couple of minutes later, locking her door and walking inside. The lights were turned all the way down, and it took her a second for her eyes to adjust from the bright outside world. When she was able to see, her eyes skimmed the club for her friend. There were three girls on the stage, two of them wrapped around poles while the third girl was in the middle, circling her hips, running her hands through her hair and over her body.

"Hey, can I help—oh," the girl who was greeting her quickly cut off when Clary turned to face her. She gave her a tight smile, lowering her eyes as a sign of respect, which was a little ironic given she was wearing a tiny silver bikini and nothing else. "Are you looking for Isabelle, Clarissa?"

"Yes," Clary nodded.

"She's in the office," the girl said. Clary smiled and headed down the hallway to her left. The sultry music come from the speakers, the beat pounding out from the doors on each side of the hallway. There would be girls in each of the rooms, dancing in front of men, possibly doing a little bit more than dancing. What happened wasn't exactly legal, but the police never gave them a second glance for two reasons. One; the Silver Demons paid off over half of the department to stay quiet and provide a couple of favors every now and then. Two; the police department were often the ones in the rooms with these girls.

"Hey, babe," Clary greeted her friend as she knocked on the door of the office and pushed it open. Isabelle was sitting behind the large mahogany desk, glasses perched on her nose as she looked at her computer. The red head snorted as she came into the room and sat down in the seat opposite the dark haired girl. "Every time I see you in those glasses, I'm just waiting for you to take them off and let down your hair and strike the whole sexy librarian pose."

"Simon definitely enjoys that role play," Isabelle smirked as she looked over at her.

"I don't need to know about your sex life," Clary scrunched up her nose.

"So what's up? Why are you here?"

"Do you know what's going on?" Clary asked. Isabelle's lips pursed together and ran her fingers through her hair. "You've noticed it, right?"

"I'm not an idiot," Isabelle muttered. "Of course I know something is going on. Everyone I love is linked to the club, and I can tell when something is wrong."

"Do you know what it is?" Clary repeated.

"I don't know," Isabelle leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "i honestly have no idea. But even Simon is on edge and—"

"Isabelle?" The two girls turned around to see a woman in the doorway. Well, more like a girl. She was in normal street clothes, but from the way her hair and make up was done, and the way her shirt was popped open a couple of buttons with a flash of gold and silver underneath, it was easy to tell that she was a dancer.

"What is it, Lacey?" Isabelle asked.

"Um, I wanted to talk to you about my shifts next week? My little boy has a camp that he's asking me to chaperone for," Lacey Cartwright came into the office and gave Clary a weak smile.

"Of course, uh," Isabelle looked at Clary, who got up from her seat. "No problem, this shouldn't take too long. Jon is upstairs if you wanted to hang out there."

"Sit with my brother while he watches live porn?" Clary smirked. "Sounds like heaven." Isabelle smiled at her as she headed out of the room. She walked back down the hallway, and this time when she walked past the second door, there was a moan and a thump that accompanied the music inside. Clearly some john getting a bang for his buck. Clary walked through the tables that were lined up in the strip club, and around the last booth before reaching the steps that lead up to the platform above. The balcony that overlooked the club and more importantly, the stage, was only for club members, and their woman, which extended to family members.

"Clary," Jon grinned over at her from where he was sitting on one of the couches, a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. "What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the view?" Clary taunted. Jon rolled his eyes and patted the couch next to him. She sat down, a little gingerly, and screwed up her nose. "Can I get pregnant from sitting down here?" She joked.

"Highly likely," Jon smirked back at her.

"That's disgusting," she stated. "You know that, right?" He just shrugged,

"So what are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes settling on the two girls who were currently on stage. The girls were dancing with each other, twisting around each other, running their fingers through one anothers hair. As they met one anothers mouths and started pulling at each others clothes, Clary looked back to her brother.

"What's going on, Jonathon?" She asked. Jon glanced at her before turning back to the view.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Clary," he muttered.

"Don't act like I'm one of your stupid whores," she spat out at him. "I know there's something here, and I want to know what it is."

"It's club business, Clary. Just leave it alone," Jon repeated. She glared at him, but he was ignoring her. Finally she just rolled her eyes and settled back in the couch, crossing her arms over her chest and watching the dancers. They were now both down to their tiny thongs as they gyrated with one another. There was a third girl on stage now, swinging around a pole, with her head tilted all the way back so she could look out over the audience. The siblings stayed quiet for a few more minutes before Jon reached over and punched her arm lightly. "What's going on with you?"

"There's nothing up with me," she snipped back at him and he just rolled his eyes and let out a snort.

"Come on," he grinned. "You're not bound by the laws of brotherhood."

"Oh fuck off," she grumbled but he knew that he was wearing her down. He reached over to tug at her hair a couple of times, like he always did when he was teasing her. He had been doing it for as long as she could remember, and she had hated it for as long as he had been doing it.

"Come on," he repeated. "Something happened that night you left the party early, I know it. It wasn't with Seb, because he was still at the clubhouse, so is there someone else? You got a thing going, Clare Bear?" He teased her and she rolled her eyes.

"No," she told him, but there was a grin on her mouth.

"Aw, Clary has a crush. Who's the guy?" Jon prodded at her side and smirked as she twisted away from him. "Or better yet, who's the girl?"

"You're fucked up, Jon," she screwed up her nose. "I get you like the whole girl on girl thing, but I'm pretty sure that it's not meant to extend to your own sister." He just shrugged, watching her with steady eyes. "There's no one!" He tilted his head to the side, a knowingly look on his face. "Jon..." the smile pulled the corners of her mouth upward and then all of a sudden his face went blank, and his eyes narrowed. "Jon?"

"It's him, isn't it?" Jon snapped. Clary quickly schooled her features, pursing her lips together and narrowing her eyes.

"Who?" She muttered.

"Him," Jon reached over and grabbed her wrist. "You know who the fuck I'm talking about."

"Nope, not a clue," Clary growled back, trying to drag her hand away fro him. "Let go of me, Jon, you're hurting me." His strong fingers were holding tightly to her wrist, digging into the sensative skin roughly. "Jon," her voice shook slightly, trying to tug her hand back. The look on his face was deadly, and her stomach was clenching so badly it felt like she might be sick.

"You're not seventeen anymore, Clary," he hissed at her. "Stop being an immature little kid and grow the fuck up. This will not end well."

"Let. Me. Go," Clary bit out at him, her eyes digging back into his. Jon stared at her for a few seconds longer before finally he released her hand. Clary got off the couch and stalked down the steps, never looking back.

 _So pretties, I have a new idea. I'm going to do a sort of alphabet songfic oneshot story. So each chapter will stand for each letter, working through from A - Z. Aaaaand the requests for each song are up to you guys :) Some of the letters have already been taken, because I've discussed this idea with a couple of people, but the rest are all up to you! So you can either send through requests in your reviews, or in PM, and let me know what ships you would want. I'm mainly Clace, Sizzy and Malec, but I don't mind trying my hand at other TMI ships._

 _You guys interested?_

 _Let me know :)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey guys! I'm so glad you're all enjoying this. I know we all want Clace going on, and I promise it's coming, but we just need a little background first. Please hang with me..._

Jordan had been right when he said that there was something going on. Jace had spoken with his father about it who hadn't said much about it. Stephen had pretty much said that there was some tension between several other clubs, but that it didn't involve them. They were purposefully trying to stay neutral, and letting their allies know that they didn't want to get mixed up in a turf war.

It made sense, and Stephen was doing the right thing.

Which was unusual for him.

"Yo, Jace!" Mark Blackthorn shouted from where he was standing on the opposite side of the club. "We're needed!" Jace glanced back to where there was a girl on top of the pool table, swinging her hips and shooting seductive smiles at the brothers who were watching her. She got up and headed into toward where Mark was standing, next to the door that lead into the church. Inside, Stephen was sitting there with Will Herondale, the current VP of the Devils Hand. Jace nodded at the pair before taking a side opposite them at the exquisitely carved wooden table.

"I need you boys to go out and do some collections," Stephen said. "There's two people we have who haven't paid up for some time."

"Can't you send out one of the prospects?" Mark asked, not looking particularly impressed with the job.

"No, I'm sending out you," Stephen's voice was a little firmer this time, saying clearly that he wasn't going to change his mind. "It's Caleb Atwater and Leroy Jefferson. I will send you their addresses." Jace nodded, getting up from his seat and heading toward the door. He honestly didn't mind collection duty, although from the way Mark was now scowling and refusing to move from his post at the table said that he did. Stephen was staring at the man with an arched eyebrow before Mark finally pressed his lips together and got up, following after Jace with a glare on his face.

Jace had never been a big fan of Mark. He crude and treated woman like trash, and he didn't have much respect for authority. It was amazing he had been in the club for this long without getting a beaten warning from either the VP or the President.

"We'll start with Atwater," Mark said as they walked outside into the sun and headed to where their bikes were parked up. "I know where he lives. And then we'll go to Jefferson's." Jace wasn't to good with getting orders from someone that he viewed as beneath him on the chain of command, but he gave a tight lipped nod. They arrived at the first place, Atwaters. The place was a mess, the curtains were closed, the grass and hedges overgrown and a mess of old mail and rubbish in the front yard. Jace walked across the lawn, stalking over to the front door and rapping his knuckles against it. He pulled his sunglasses off his nose, pushing them on top of his head and waiting for someone to come to the door. He heard a shuffle and a bang behind the door and he rolled his eyes.

"You're fucking with me," he muttered. "Mark! Around the back!" He shouted, and the man nodded, quickly jogging around the back of the house while Jace took a step back from the door and then kicking it in. The house was just as much a mess on the inside as it was on the outside. Jace took a second to let his eyes adjust and then stormed into the lounge. There was no one there, so he moved quickly into the kitchen.

"Jace!" Mark shouted and Jace followed the voice, walking through the kitchen, and then through the laundry area to where Mark was standing with the man. He was laying sprawled out on the ground, Mark's foot pressed into his lower back, glaring down at the man. "We got a runner on our hands."

"Caleb Atwater," Jace stated as he looked down at the man. Mark bent over and roughly grabbed him, turning him over so that Jace could see his split lip and the graze above his eye. "You owe the Devil's Hand a bit of money. And you're overdue with paying your debts."

"I just need another month," Caleb whimpered.

"No, you don't," Jace shook his head. "You need to pay up."

"I don't have the money!" He cried. Jace looked down at him, an expression of mock sympathy on his face before he looked over at Mark.

"You hear that, brother?" Jace said. "He doesn't have the money."

"Aw, you don't have any money?" Mark pouted down at the man. "That's such a shame." It looked as though he was going to continue, but then there was the sound of a car outside. Jace frowned and jerked his head at Mark, indicating that he find out what the cause of the noise was. Caleb didn't even try to move from where he was on the ground, looking up at him from the ground. Mark came back a minute later, dragging a woman by the collar of her shirt. She looked petrified, her face pale and her lips in a thin line, and she was struggling to keep up with Mark's long legged pace. "Who's this, Caleb? You got a friend?"

"I'm his fiancée," she mumbled out.

"Aw, his fiancée," Mark cooed out as he looked over at Jace. Jace rolled his eyes, not particularly enjoying where Mark was thinking about taking this train of thought, but knowing that he had to back his brother up.

"Well," Jace reached out toward the girl, snatching up her hand and turning it over, looking at the glistening ring on her finger. "Is this what the money was for? This is why you needed to borrow money?"

"Borrow money?!" The girl looked horrified, looking between the man on the floor and the two men who were standing in the position of power. "You borrowed from these thugs?!" Mark's eyebrows furrowed and he shook her roughly, causing her to squeak in pain.

"Watch your tongue, girl," he hissed at her. And then his face twisted into a cruel smile. "Actually, I've got a few ideas about what you can do with that tongue." That got a reaction out of Caleb, and he struggled to get up from the ground, but Jace gave him a glare and held out a hand warningly. "So, Caleb," Mark looked down at the man with a nasty look in his eyes. "Either you think of a way that you can repay us, or I'm going to take this pretty girl inside and I'm going to have so much fun with her cunt that she's never going to be able to have you without thinking of me again." The girl in his arms started whimpering again, her eyes swinging between the three men.

"Fucking hell," Jace growled out, stalking over to the girl and ripping her hand away from where Mark was holding it. He tore the ring off her finger roughly, looking at it critically before shoving it into his pocket. "Let the bitch go," he snapped at Mark. "This will cover at least the first part of the payment." Mark looked between the girl in his hold, the man cowering on the floor and then over at Jace. The look in his eyes was positively feral and Jace knew that there was going to be blood spilling from someone today, and he would prefer that it wouldn't be the innocent girl. He reached over and grasped the girl, pulling her to his side and away from Mark. "Make sure you show him what happens to people when they go back on their word with us."

"Sounds perfect," Mark's lips curled upward in a smirk. Jace walked back toward the house, dragging the girl behind him and into the house. He threw her into the kitchen seat, propping himself on the bench, watching the way she flinched and cringed every time there was a shout or a moan outside. Tears were tracking down her face but Jace's expression remained carefully impassive. When Mark came back into the house, his knuckles were bloody and he was grinning almost like a crazy person.

"You ready?" Jace asked, his eyes moving from the girl to his brother.

"Sure am," Mark nodded. The two of them headed outside. When they reached their bikes, Jace looked over at the other man and pursed his lips. He wasn't against using violence to get his way; shit, you could never be a part of a gang without using violence. Sometimes he even liked it. But he drew the line with woman, and he had problems with his brothers that didn't have that moral line.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Jace muttered.

"Course not," Mark smirked. "Not quite."

* * *

The second man managed to get enough money together to cover at least the core amount that was borrowed, which was what they had come for, and he promised to have the interest together in no time. Afterwards, Jace and Mark drove in separate directions, Mark taking the money and the ring back to the club to hand over to Stephen while Jace headed toward the porn studio that was owned by the club, run by Celine Herondale and Tessa Gray.

"Hey, mum," Jace approached the office where his mother did all the editing. On the screen on her desk, there were three girls, gyrating and moaning theatrically, and Celine was sitting there with a critical look on her face. She narrowed her eyes as her fingers tapped over the keys and swivelled the mouse.

"Hey, baby," Celine paused the streaming and grinned up at him. He reached over to kiss her cheek before collapsing in the seat opposite her. "Long day?"

"No, it's been fine," Jace said as he rested his elbows on the arm rests. "It's good to get back into the swing of things."

"Oh really?" His mother arched an eyebrow at him. "Is that what you're doing back here? Finding a girl to help you get 'back into the swing of things'?" Jace rolled his eyes and laughed at his mothers reaction.

"Come on, mum," he shook his head. "You know I wouldn't touch any of these girls with a ten foot pole."

"Now that's just insulting," Celine smirked.

"No, it's not," Jace laughed.

"No, it's not," she agreed. "Although you used to like Kaelie."

"Kaelie's working here now?" He frowned.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Celine asked.

"Nah, I don't exactly have her on my speed dial," he said sarcastically. "And it's not exactly like I liked her, you know that. She was just someone who was always there." Celine just shrugged and pushed her finger against the side of her computer screen, pushing it around so that Jace could see. True to her words, out of the three girls acting like a nympho on the recordings was Kaelie.

Mothers showing porn they produced to their sons wasn't common place.

But they didn't have the normal relationship.

"Good to know she's still flexible," he noted with a smirk.

"She's filming at the moment, if you wanted to go and see," Celine suggested.

"Are you trying to get me laid, mum?" Jace asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, well," Celine leaned back in her seat and laced her fingers together over her stomach. "Maybe if I get you together with someone, you aren't going to run off on me again." Jace looked as though he was going to say something, but she continued talking. "I know, I know, it's not as though I would approve with you to be with one of the club slags. But can you fault me for just wanting my baby boy to stay in town?" She pouted over at him. Jace just laughed at his mothers antics before getting up from where he was sitting.

"I'm not a baby anymore, mum," he reminded her.

"Yeah, well, you'll always be my little boy!" Celine called after him as he walked out of the room.

 _So? What do we think?_

 _I just want to spazz out about a couple of things. One, over the past month or so I've finally started binging on_ Teen Wolf. _I brought every season I could off eBay and watched at every free moment I could. I'm completely fucking in love Dylan O'Brien and Tyler Hoechlin. God, they're absolute baaaabes. And the kid who played Isaac. I can't get over his face. He so...Like, sweet looking, but completely sexy at the same time. Gosh._

 _And the other thing is the show_ Shadowhunters. _I was really let down when it first started, the first couple of episodes were, well, absolutely terrible. To be honest. But it's gradually gotten better, and I actually quite like the last two episodes. And Matthew Daddario as Alec? Oh. My God. OhmyGOD! He's just...*sighs dreamily*_

 _Please leave a review, and I'll send you a preview xx_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey, my gorgeous people! Back with a new chapter! I've got a little Alec/Clary action going on in here, because I absolutely love the idea of those two as friends. Hope you guys enjoy :) Also, I've put up that songfic story to the alphabet, so if you guys want to check that out, it's called_ Pressing Play.

It was Friday night, and Clary was ready for the weekend. She honestly didn't want to do anything for the next two days except to move from her bed to the couch in their lounge, dressed in underwear and a shirt, and binge watch _Jessica Jones_. That was actually where she wanted to be right _now_ , but there was a club dinner, which happened about once a fortnight, and she was naturally expected to be there. Jonathon was ignoring her, and usually their parents would have picked up on something, but they were both distracted by whatever it was that was going on right now.

She could feel the tension, surrounding everyone in the room, but there were family members and children at the dinner, and they were all trying to bury the way they were feeling. Isabelle had come up to her earlier and told her that she had tried to speak to Simon about it, but he hadn't given her anything.

"Hey, girl," Alec gave her a smile as he came up next to her at the long table that was holding the food. "You're looking a little drained."

"Just tired," Clary shrugged. She studied him for a moment as he piled his plate high, took in the curve of his lips and the way he was practically vibrating with energy. "Someone's in a good mood." Alec glanced around to make sure there wasn't anyone else within earshot before looking back at her and grinning.

"Mag's is in town for the next week," he told her quietly.

"That's awesome, Alec," Clary nudged him. "Don't let him wear you out too much."

"Oh, I'll be begging him to," Alec smirked as he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, before turning around and heading back to a seat to eat his dinner. The smile on her face dropped as she turned back to the table, pursing her lips. Clary felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she shifted the plate to her other hand to pull it out of her pocket.

 _Can I see you?_

She swallowed hard and shoved it back into her pocket. The boy really shouldn't make her feel this dizzy. She should be over the whole teenage crush thing by now. Especially with the same boy that she actually had the teenage crush on. She grabbed a bottle of beer from the chilled bucket at one end of the table and then headed toward the back of the club house. It was only just after seven, and there was still a little bit of light outside. She kicked open the back door and stood out on the balcony. She could hear all the music and talking and laughter from her friends and family inside, along with the giggles from the children. Her phone buzzed again, and she sighed and pulled it out.

 _I want to see you, Clary._

She chewed down nervously on her lower lip, tapping her finger against the edge of her phone before there was the sound of the door opening again. She turned around to see Sebastian standing there, and she regretted coming out the back, away from everyone else, with nothing to distract her.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked, leaning against the doorframe, blocking her way back into the club house with his leg, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his back pocket.

"I'm eating," Clary snipped at him as she purposefully shoved a fork of food into her mouth. "If that's okay with you."

"What about after that?" He asked as he pressed the cigarette between his lips and flicked on the lighter, the flame tinging the end of the smoke red.

"Going back inside to get more food," she replied, her voice flat. Sebastian snorted and stood there in silence, breathing in the smoke before exhaling it through pursed lips. Clary hoped like hell her phone wasn't going to vibrate again, even though it was in her back pocket and Sebastian had no way of knowing who it was who was texting her. After a few minutes, Sebastian moved to sit down next to her on the step, and she purposefully pulled her legs in close to her so that there were a good few inches between them.

"Are we going to play it that way, are we?" Sebastian asked. "All coy and hard to get? And then half an hour in you're going to moaning over my cock—"

"No," Clary cut him off. "We're going to play; Clary's had a shitty week, and she wants you to fuck off and leave her alone, or the only thing that your cock's going to get is the heel of my boot." Sebastian rolled his eyes at her snippy words, but he got up and headed back inside, leaving her alone. When she heard footsteps behind her again, her eyes narrowed. "Fuck off, Sebastian! Do you need me to fucking spell it out for you?"

"Well, that's no way to talk to your mother," came a chiding voice and Clary's eyes widened, looking up to see Jocelyn standing there.

"Oh, shit," Clary made a face. "Sorry, mum."

"It's fine, babe," Jocelyn sat down next to her and tilted her head toward her daughter. "Looks like we're all having bad days."

"Yeah, well," Clary looked at her mothers face, where the bruise was only just starting to fade around her eye. "Some of us are worse off than others." Jocelyn just shrugged and snagged a piece of bread off Clary's plate. The younger girls appetite was completely gone and she put the plate down on the step between them, resting her elbow on her knee and putting her chin in her palm, looking over at Jocelyn. "What's going on, mum?" She asked softly. Jocelyn breathed out heavily through her nose and shook her head.

"I'm honestly not sure, baby," she murmured. "Something's not going right in there." She licked her lower lip and drummed her fingers against her thigh, before looking over her shoulder and then leaning in close to Clary. "I think some of the club want your father out of presidency," she said in a hushed tone. Clary's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"What?" She gasped. "What makes you think that?"

"There's unrest, baby, there has been for some time," Jocelyn murmured.

"There's always been unrest and shit going on," Clary replied. "That doesn't mean it leads to a hostile take over though!" Jocelyn widened her eyes pointedly and shook her head and Clary let out a shaky exhale, lowering her voice. "He's done something, right? He must have done something to make this happen."

"You can't talk like that, Clary," Jocelyn hissed at her. "Don't you ever talk like that. What if someone hears you?" Her daughter was glaring, but she pursed her lips together and didn't say anything else. "I'm going to head back inside, okay? And when you come back in, you're going to have a happy face on, and you're going to act as though everything is good and fine, okay?" Clary jerked her head in a nod. "Okay," Jocelyn stood up and straightened out her shirt. "I'll see you inside." She disappeared back into the clubhouse and left Clary sitting on the step.

Clary swallowed hard and let out a growl, angrily lashing out with her foot and kicking her plate of food down the steps.

"Fucking hell," she growled.

This was it.

This was her life.

Full of bad times, and lies, and pretend, fake smiles and guns.

* * *

"Brother," Luke was straining to keep his voice lowered as he looked across at his president. Valentine was completely drunk, and stoned as well, which was sort of the point of these get togethers. But lately, Valentine hadn't been anything _except_ drunk and stoned, and Luke was getting a little pissed at picking up the pieces that his president was leaving behind him. These pieces included a slowly breaking wife and a club that was crumbling at the edges. "Brother, I think that it might be time to head off home." Valentine looked over at Luke with an expression of disgust on his face.

"You hear this man?" Valentine let out a snort, speaking to the men and woman around him. "I think ol' Lukey Boy might be getting softer in his old age." There were laughs and grunts of agreement from the other men around the room. "Hey, you!" Valentine shouted, his voices slurring slightly. "You!" He repeated, and a pretty, but trashy looking, brunette turned around, blinking up at the man from where she was sitting cross legged on the ground, her eyes glazed over from whatever drug she was inhaling. "I think you need to help my man here relax," he laughed and slapped a hand down hard on Luke's shoulder.

"No, I'm—" Luke broke off at the way Valentine was looking at him, his eyes suddenly icy, leaving no room for argument. Luke snapped his mouth shut, because if he started turning down girls Valentine was only going to be more suspicious of the relationship between his second in charge and his wife. The brunette was already coming over to him, stumbling slightly in the heels she was wearing. She reached Luke and sat down on his lap, straddling him and attaching her mouth to his. Luke let her kiss him, his hands settling on her ass and giving it a squeeze. When he pulled back, Valentine looked as though he had brought the whole charade, and was talking to the man on his right. "That's enough, doll," Luke murmured. "Go away." The brunette pouted, her hand resting on his chest and trailing down to his lap. "No," Luke said firmer this time, keeping his voice low so that only the girl could here. "You need to piss off." The brunette huffed and got up, tottering away to the kitchen to find something more to drink.

"You look like you need another one of these," Alec muttered, appearing at Luke's side and handing him a beer.

"Didn't you hear?" Luke grunted. "I'm getting soft in my old age." Alec just shrugged, still holding out the beer. Luke took it and gave him a half smile. Alec looked over to where Valentine was now talking to Robert, a girl in a tiny purple dress on his lap. Luke's eyes weren't on their president though, they were locked on Jocelyn, who was sitting at the bar with Maryse, purposefully facing the opposite direction, not looking at her husband. "Shit, I'm going to need a smoke," Luke muttered. Alec followed Luke's gaze, to their presidents woman, and nodded.

"Yeah, buddy," Alec agreed with him sympathetically, patting his shoulder a couple of times. "You're going to need a few more than one."

 _So? Also a little bit on Valentine/Luke here. I promise that there's going to be more Clace soon, I absolutely promise, we just need to get an idea of everything that's going on in the club, because that's important to the story._

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think, you words make me very, very happy. Ooh, and if you're interested, you can always ask me about the new stories I'm working on as well :) Plus, I'll send you a preview of the next chapter._

 _I'm seeing_ Batman vs Superman _tonight! Ridiculously excited to support Batman! Whoop whoop! Nerding out a little._

 _Also, has everyone heard of Troye Sivan? I know he's gotten super popular lately, but I had to draw attention, because I'm completely in love. Especially with his_ Blue Neighbourhood _trilogy, that made me bawl my eyes out. Check it out if you haven't already :)_

 _Oh yeah, and I totally solved the big siblings dilemma in the show! A simple DNA test, bitches. Takes two seconds, and then next episode, we're back on track again._


	10. Chapter 10

_So we've got some Malec going on in this chapter because, well, Malec is life. Shit, that kiss? I don't know how many times I've rewatched that, especially with all the gifs and videos plastered over Facebook and Tumblr. Oh, and another thing that is life right now is_ Sound of Music _. I'm watching it as I edit and I'm completely in love still. This movie is life, man. Don't know how many times I've seen it!_

"I can't believe you're back," Alec murmured as he rolled onto his stomach, looking across at his boyfriend who was standing in the doorway with his finger hooked through the loop of his tie and tugging at it. "It feels like it's been forever since I've seen you." Magnus Bane grinned as he took in his naked man on the bed.

"It's only been a month," Magnus said.

"You saying that you didn't miss me?" Alec quirked an eyebrow and Magnus rolled his eyes.

"Aw, you going to go and pout about it?" He teased lightly.

"No," Alec tilted his head to the side and looked down the Indonesian man up and down. "I can think of other ways to remind you that you missed me." Magnus dumped his bag on the ground and his eyes glowed with lust as Alec rolled off the bed and walked over to where he was standing. Magnus looked at him for a long beat before Alec was dropping to his knees on the carpet and pulling at Magnus's belt buckle and zipper until the expensive pants were at a pile on the ground and Alec's mouth was on his half hard member. Magnus let out a long moan, his hands going to Alec's hair and tangling in the strands, pulling hard. Alec's tongue worked over his boyfriends cock until Magnus was moaning and his thighs were shaking. Just when he thought he wasn't going to be able to handle anymore without exploding, Alec's hand replaced his mouth and his tongue moved to lave over his sac.

"Fuck, Alec," Magnus groaned as he felt the knot inside him tightening to the point where he was going to snap.

"Come on, baby," Alec looked up at him through his thick eyelashes with a sinful smile that made Magnus let out another moan and reach down to guide his boyfriend back to his cock. He thrust his hips forward to meet Alec's mouth, until he let out a growl and emptied himself onto Alec's waiting tongue. Alec's let out a moan of approval as he swallowed Magnus's seed and then slowly pulled back, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. Magnus only took a few seconds to recover before he gave Alec a good shove and sent him stumbling back toward the bed.

"My turn," Magnus purred as he fell forward, stretching over his boyfriend.

* * *

"Is this how it's always going to be?" Magnus asked, leaning over to touch his hand to Alec's shoulder. The dark haired boy sighed and lifted his head from where it was resting on the pillow. "You and me...Sneaking around."

"I don't know, Mags," Alec murmured, his heart feeling heavy as he said the words. "I mean, things aren't the same as they used to be. They've changed. In some clubs it's not a big deal to be gay. But...I mean, I don't know if it's going to be like this forever. But I don't want to put us in a position where we're hunted." Magnus swallowed hard at the words and shook his head, taking in a deep breath through his nose before laying back down on the pillow. "Because that's something that might happen," Alec said stiffy. "I'm a part of this family, they're all I've ever known, but there's a code that they live by, and if you break that code...Well. Things don't always go your way. You break an oath."

"Have you thought about leaving?" Magnus asked, his voice low. Alec took in a sharp breath and looked over at Magnus, his eyes narrowing.

"Magnus..." he began warningly.

"Let's not talk about it right now," Magnus decided abruptly, shifting on the bed so that he was straddling his boyfriend and he put his hands on either side of Alec's head. They had already been three or four rounds, and both of them were tired, but the instant Magnus's naked body was stretched out over Alec's, he felt his cock twitch and react to the beautiful man. Magnus lowered himself, his lips biting down over the skin of Alec's collarbone, nipping at the bone and sucking hard and marking him, causing Alec to groan and writhe underneath him. "I can think of a hundred other things that I would rather talk about..." Alec let out a short laugh and rolled his eyes.

"You want to hold a conversation right now?" Alec asked breathlessly as Magnus lowered his kissed to Alec's right nipple, laving it with his tongue.

"I thought you liked it when I talked to you," Magnus murmured.

"Sometimes," Alec was feeling completely disorientated as Magnus slid further down his thighs, his lips leaving kisses over his toned torso, making his way down to the apex of his leg. Magnus nosed at his trimmed pubic hair, and Alec let out a guttural groan as Magnus took his cock into his mouth, flattening his tongue as he slid his mouth time. "Sometimes I like it when you don't talk better..."

* * *

"Mum?" Clary called out, frowning as she stepped into her parents home. It was a little after six, and the sun was setting in the distance, and there were no lights on inside, so the house was pretty much in darkness. Clary flicked on the lights in the lounge and looked around. "Mum?" She called out again.

"Hey, baby," Jocelyn came into the lounge, looking harried, her hair a mess.

"Uh, mum?" Clary tilted her head to the side as she took in the buttons that were one button hole off their correct placing. Jocelyn's eyes were wide as she looked down and quickly rearranged herself. Down the hallway, there was the sound of a door closing and Jocelyn winced at the noise. Clary took in a deep breath and ran her fingers through her wavy hair, throwing it over her shoulder. "Who's that, mum?" She asked icily.

"I'm sorry, baby," Jocelyn muttered. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"You asked me to come over," Clary reminded her.

"I did?" Jocelyn frowned and Clary just continued to stare at her. "It's Tuesday?" Clary didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm just really spaced out."

"Or sexed up," Clary shot back at her. Jocelyn's eyes darkened and and Clary just shook her head. "I think I'm going to head home," she turned around to head back toward the door.

"No, wait, Clary!" Jocelyn sighed and walked over to her quickly. "Baby, don't go."

"You literally invited me over and forgot about it because you were fucking someone who wasn't my dad," Clary hissed, her green eyes spitting fire as she glared at her mother. At least Jocelyn had the decency to look ashamed and folded her arms over her chest and looked down at the ground.

Clary loved her parents.

It was no secret that she had been a daddy's girl as she was growing up. He treated her like a princess, and she had always thought that he had treated her mother like a queen. It wasn't until she was old enough to understand certain things and pick up on underlying tones that she realized that things weren't perfect between them. Sometimes Valentine would disappear for a night and when he came back in the morning, he would go straight to the shower and Jocelyn wouldn't smile for the rest of the day. Clary understood what it meant when the men joked around that what happened on a run, stayed on a run. A 'run' being when some of the club members drove off on their bikes and could be gone for weeks at a time. When she started going to parties, she would see her father go down the hallway to one of the back rooms, and then Maryse would reach out and touch Jocelyn's hand, and squeeze it gently.

There were two kinds of men in their society.

The kind that were loyal, and the kind that weren't.

And their president wasn't.

And she knew that her 'Uncle Luke' and her mother had a thing going on, and had for some years. She wasn't sure how long it had been going on, or when it started, and she wasn't ready to ask. That was something she had never planned on discussing with Jocelyn.

"Baby," Jocelyn took in a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time, I didn't..."

"You were fucking dad's VP in his own bed. That's super classy, mum," Clary said snidely. "What if I had been dad? What if he had caught you? He would have killed Luke."

"He might have _tried_ ," Jocelyn muttered. Clary just shook her head in disgust and spun on her heel and stalked toward the door. She grabbed the handle and stepped outside, but Jocelyn caught her arm. "Baby, I'm sorry," she sighed. "This isn't something I wanted you to find out this way."

"Mum," Clary shook her head, pulling her arm away from her mother and stepping down from the doorstep onto the paving stones that curled through the garden toward where her car was parked. "I'm twenty-three. What makes you think I didn't know about you and Luke?" Jocelyn tilted her head quizzically. "Come on. I've known for years. Jon's known for years. I'm surprised the whole club doesn't know."

"Some of them do," Jocelyn murmured. "The one's who are loyal to Luke." The phrase of the comment was what made Clary stop. Jocelyn saw that she had gotten to her daughter and she took a few steps closer.

"Luke's the one who's going up against dad?" Clary asked and then she snorted derisively. "Okay, so the other night when you said that you _thought_ there was something going on, you were lying. Because you _knew_ something was going on. Because, well," she snorted again. "Because you're sleeping with the guy who's trying to get dad kicked out of the presidency."

"I wouldn't...I wouldn't say that exactly," Jocelyn faltered.

"You realize what a power climbing whore this makes you look like?" Clary said bluntly and Jocelyn's eyes widened. "Look, you're fucking someone to get back at dad for screwing around on you. I get that. I've got that since I was fourteen or so, and I'm pretty sure Jon got it then too. But you can't ever actually be with Luke, you realize that, right?"

"Clary!" Jocelyn snapped. Her and her daughter stared at each other for a long time before Jocelyn let out a long breath and shook her head. "Luke isn't the only one who wants this. You know that there's a lot going on that hasn't been right for a long time . They're fighting about drugs, and the guns, and the dirty cops that they have under their belt," she lifted her hand to her head and pressed her fingers against her temple. "I wanted to talk to you, because things are about to get messy. And I don't want you to get caught up in all of this."

"Well, that's too bad," Clary said. "You know that. This is my life and my family, and that means that this is my mess, just as much as everyone else." This time, when she turned and walked away, she didn't turn back when her mother called after her. She got in her car and turned on the engine, and drove down the street. Her body was tense and her fingers were clenched around the wheel of the car, her knuckles drained of blood.

Once she got two blocks away, she indicated to pull over and brought her car to a stop. She took in a couple of deep breaths, willing away the tears that had suddenly rushed to her eyes, and picked up her phone, texting the only person that she was thinking of at that moment.

Jace.

 _What you guys think? Tell me, tell me, tell me. Your reviews make the hard work worth it, and I'll send you a preview of the next chapter :) xx_

 _Ooh, and I'll share a couple of songs with that I'm completely in love with at the moment. There's_ Roman Holiday _by Halsey,_ Style _by Taylor Swift (I'm not usually a big fan of hers) and_ Hurts Like Hell _by Fleurie. Tell me your songs, I love new music._

 _Oh, and feel totally free to fangirl with my over the Malec kiss in the reviews and PM's :P_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey, guys :) Next chapter. A question I got asked that I actually meant to address a while earlier, is I was asked who I imagine as the characters when I'm writing. Well, to me, Lily and Jamie will always be Clary and Jace. I think they did a spectacular job. And to be totally honest, the TV actors really frustrate me. Not saying they're not good actors or anything, I'm sure they're just doing what the directors tell them to, but they drive me kind of nuts. I find Clary super whiny and Jace unbearably broody. For pretty much everyone else as well, I imagine the movie actors. The only ones I see from the TV show (other than people who obviously weren't featured in the movie) is Matthew Daddario as Alec and Emeraude Toubia as Isabelle._

 _Also, there was a few not so happy reviews about the whole Clary and Jocelyn discussion in the last chapter. Please keep in mind that this is inspired by_ Sons of Anarchy _and other similar books/TV shows, and the whole world is meant to be a lot rougher than the usual one, which is shown by the way they talk to each other and act. Just something to keep in mind :)_

Isabelle was at Simons, which wasn't unusual. And it worked in Clary's favor, because right now, she just needed Jace. She needed Jace in her head and in her cunt, and to fuck away all the shit that was going on in her life at the moment. She got into the shower as soon as she got home, standing underneath the hot spray for what felt like hours. She didn't bother washing her hair, she just stood there, lathering her moringa body wash up and down her arms, over her torso, between her legs, and then sat at the bottom of the shower until the water ran cold. Then she got herself out, rubbing a towel through her hair and then walking naked down the hallway to her room.

Clary plugged her phone into the speakers on top of her desk, turning the sound up until it was all that she could hear. Maria Brink screamed in her ears as she pulled on an over-sized shirt and a pair of lace underwear and then lit up a joint, laying back on her bed. She had almost finished the joint and was thinking about getting another one out when there was a noise down the hallway. She narrowed her eyes and her hand instantly shifted to the top of her bed, reaching for the bedside table when Jace appeared in the doorway. She snorted and rolled her eyes, her wrist relaxing.

"Shit, man," Clary shook her head, closing her eyes as she took in another long drag from her joint. "You need to stop breaking in."

"I knocked at the back door," Jace said. "You didn't answer."

"Yeah, well," Clary shrugged, still not opening her eyes. "You found your way in." She heard him moving into her room, but she just focused on how weightless her body felt right now and how unworried she felt for the first time in a couple of weeks. Suddenly, his hands were closing around her ankles and pulling her to the other side of the bed. She let out a giggle and opened her eyes. "You want a puff?" She asked, opening her eyes and taking the joint from between her lips, holding it out to him.

"Yeah," Jace took it from her, putting it in the corner of his mouth, and then dropping his hands back to her legs, reaching down to grip the edges of her underwear and jerking them down. His fingers trailed down her smooth thighs, massaging them lightly and smiling when he saw the smug smile drop off her face and her lips parting, eyes closing. His hands slid back to her knees, pushing them apart so that she was exposed to him. "You finish it, Red," he said after he had inhaled, handing it back to her.

"Mm," Clary mumbled, accepting it and putting it back in her mouth as he leaned down. He started placing slow, wet kisses from her knee and up the inside of her thigh. His hands were on her ass, pressing his thumbs into the tight skin of her cheeks, pulling her upward so that when his mouth reached the middle of her legs, he was able to lift her up and present her to his tongue. "Oh...Oh," her eyes suddenly widened, pulling the joint out of her mouth. She clumsily stubbed it out on the ash tray on the bedside table, her fingers gripping at the blanket.

"I love your noises, baby," Jace murmured as his tongue teased at her slit, which was now dripping. Clary's body tensed as he dipped between her lower lips, letting out a long whine as he pulled away again. He grinned, his fingers changing their grip so that they were brushing over the crack of her perfect ass. He kneeled on the floor in front of her, pressing kisses to her skin and making her moan and try to rut her hips against him. His tongue licked down her crack, finding the tight ring of muscles and flattening his tongue against it. Clary's guttural moan spurred him on, licking at the hole, slowing relaxing it before pushing his tongue inside. Her knuckles were white where they were gripping the blankets, and she lifted her head weakly for a moment, catching his gaze.

"Bottom drawer," she managed to say, and he nodded, pulling away for a moment. He found the lube, lathering his fingers and rubbing it over her. One of his long fingers pressed inside of her and she let out another moan that made him throb in his pants. His mouth went back to her pussy, his tongue sliding between her bare, slick folds as his finger moved in and out of her ass. His tongue was so soft it made her body ache, and she rolled her hips forward, looking for something more, but knowing that she was barely going to be able to handle it once he gave it to her.

His teeth brushed against her sensitive nub and her whole body jerked, as he slipped another finger inside of her, scissoring her open. He curled his tongue around her clit, finally giving her the pressure she needed, and sliding down to sink inside of her. She tasted like heaven, and it only took him seconds to get her to the point where she was spilling over his tongue. Her body was stilling shuddering and sensitive as he took his fingers out of her ass and pushed them inside of her, sucking on her clit.

"Fuck!" Clary cried out, tears gathering in her eyes as he moved relentlessly. She came again, but he didn't stop, his fingers curling inside of her to brush against her shaking walls, and his teeth and lips never leaving her clit. One of her hands lifted from the blankets to his hair, holding him tightly against her cunt, grinding herself against his face. He loved every second of it, eating her out like she was the last meal on earth. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Clary sobbed out as she came for a fourth time, and that was when Jace pulled away. He didn't bother with his shirt, getting to his feet and just pushing down his jeans and briefs and sheathing himself with a condom. He pushed inside of her and he let out a long groan.

"Feels like home, baby," he murmured as he stared down at her. She managed a nod, before lifting her hips to meet his.

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this again," Clary let out a snort, shaking her head as she looked across at Jace. It was their third round in the past two hours, and they were both feeling pretty spent. Jace just grinned across at her, reaching over to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her in closer to him. Clary let her body mold itself against his, her head resting on his chest, her hand tracing patterns on his taunt lower stomach. "It's pretty fucking stupid, when you think about it."

"But it's also pretty fucking awesome," he nudged her with his shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face. They lay like that for a while, and Jace thought that maybe the red head in his arms had fallen asleep. He had lost count of how many times he had made her fall over the edge since he had gotten there, and it was nearly one in the morning by now. But then she shifted and tilted her head up to his and he frowned as he took in her expression. "Are you okay?" He asked her, his eyebrows knitted together, the hand that was wrapped around her rubbing up and down her lower back soothingly.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"You're lying," he said, lifting an eyebrow at her. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair and rolled away from her, stretching out her arms above her head.

"There's something bad that's coming, and I'm...I'm worried about it," Clary said. Jace could tell that there was more that she had to say, but she kept her lips pressed together. That had always been a rule between them, since they were teenagers, that they didn't talk about club business. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and walking from the room. Clary watched him go, arching her back in a cat like manner and letting out an exhale, and then looked back when he came back.

"Here, babe," he said softly, handing her a damp cloth. She gave him an appreciative smile as she wiped at the stickiness between her leg, discarding of it on the ground before picking up her cigarettes from the bedside table and lit it up.

"Good to know you're making yourself at home," Clary muttered when she saw the bottle of beer in his hand. Jace just shrugged and gave her a half smile as he swallowed down a mouthful. He sat down on the opposite side of the bed of her as she finished of her cigarette, holding it out to him for a puff as she got near to the filter.

"Have you ever thought about getting away from it all?" Jace asked her abruptly as he handed the cigarette back. Clary frowned at him, as though trying to gauge his mood, and then let out a laugh.

"Uh, yeah, all the time," she muttered bitterly. "But we all know that could never happen."

"Why not?" Jace asked. Clary let out an annoyed sigh and got off the bed, walking over the windows and opening them, stubbing out her cigarette and dropping it outside. "I'm serious."

"No, you're not, Jace," Clary snapped, looking over her shoulder. "Because if you were being serious, you wouldn't be asking things like that."

"Or maybe I'm just being a different kind of serious," Jace asked quietly. She was looking at him like he was crazy and he got up, putting the bottle of beer down on the ground and walking over to where she was standing next to the open window. "It's the only way that me and you are ever going to be able to actually be together. You know that, Clary." She was still frowning up at him and he lifted his hand to touch her face. She shook her head and stepped away from him.

"This is my family, Jace," she stated. "This is everything I've ever known. And your brothers, that's your family. How can you talk about turning your back on them? About leaving them? That's all we've ever known."

"You know that if you were going to be my woman I would leave all of this behind," Jace snapped at her, his voice a couple of octaves louder. "If you told me that you were going to stand by me, then I would leave. I would leave it to be with you. All of it."

"Then I guess that's the difference between you and me," Clary glared up at him. "Because I wouldn't turn my back on my family, or my club." Jace met her angry gaze with one of his own. This had always been a problem with them. They were both too hot headed and stubborn for their own good. So instead of talking, Jace just took a handful of her hair and dragged her in close to him so that he could bring his lips down on hers. She bit down angrily on his lower lip, but he ignored her, his grip tightening in her hair, making her squeak and finally relent under the assault of his tongue and lips.

Then he was throwing her on the bed and ripping open another condom, pulling it over himself. Clary was staring up at him, her green eyes practically glowing as he pushed her legs apart and lifted her hips up so that he could slam into her. Her pussy was already hyper-sensitive from all of the attention he had given her over the past few hours and it was almost painful how good it felt. He slammed into her over and over again, trying to fuck away both of their feelings.

 _Now! My music obsessions since my last update! Actually, heaps of old songs have resurfaced on my iTunes. There's_ Thinking It Over _by Dana Glover, seriously this song makes my heart ache like every time I hear it. I think I obsessively listened to it when I was a teenager when I went through a break up, melodramatic child that I was. Then there's_ Pony _by Ginuwine. LOL. Don't know what's got me so into that one all of a sudden. And the third one is_ Bring Me Back To Life _by Extreme Music. Seriously, the_ Shadowhunters _show has a pretty great soundtrack, I think I've fallen in love with every song I've discovered through there!_

 _Oh gosh,_ aaaaaaaand _there's this cover of a Jesse McCartney song,_ Beautiful Soul, _by SoMo. I watched a Stydia fan video to the song, and I'm now just completely in love._

 _Oooooh, and in the post the other day, I got my Stilinski 24 hoodie. Can you tell I'm obsessed with_ Teen Wolf _just a little bit? Yes? No? Maybe? LOL._

 _As usual, please feed my obsession with songs and reviews :) It'd make me very happy, and I'll send you a preview xxx_


	12. Chapter 12

_Couple of things have happened since my last update. First thing is sad, one of my kitties died :( Not too sure how, appears as though he ate something poisonous in our neighbours yard. Me and my hubby and my second kitty are very upset. Second thing is happier, thank God; it's my birthday on Friday! Yes, Friday the 13th. LOL. I'm getting old._

 _Also as a side note, I've posted a couple of pilot chapters for a few Clace stories that I'll be starting. They don't have a set updating schedule yet, but they will be expanded on and turned into full multi-chapter stories, so go check them out and let me know what you think :)_

"You've got butter fingers, you know that, right?" Alec smirked as his younger brother dropped yet another wrench, making it clatter against the concrete ground.

"Fuck up," Max growled. There was a laugh from the other boys in the garage as they watched the exchange. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and things had been pretty busy all morning, but they had just started to slow down. There was music playing from the speakers in the corners of the room, Sebastian was smoking a joint just outside so he was away from all the gasoline and fumes, and everyone was feeling pretty loose. Alec was almost always giving Max a hard time, but he was always the first one to defend his little brother if anyone tried to say anything.

"Yo, Clary!" Jonathon shouted as he ducked his head down the short hall that her office came off. "Could you put the coffee maker on?"

"Put it on yourself!" Came a short reply that made Simon laugh.

"But you're closer!" Jonathon protested.

"But you're the one who wants fucking coffee!" Clary shouted back, clearly determined to stand her ground. Jonathon grumbled under his breath and stomped down the hallway. He came back a few minutes later, his fingers wrapped around one of the chipped cups they kept in the cupboard.

"Gotta love the smell of submission in the afternoon," Sebastian smirked at his friend.

"Oh yeah?" Jonathon snipped at him. "From what I hear, you're the one who submits when it comes to my sister." Sebastian narrowed his eyes as the rest of the garage hollered. He finished off his joint and dropped it on the ground, stubbing it out with the heel of his metal tipped boots and came back into the garage. The joking around all faded again as the boys settled around the cars they were working on. It was interrupted about twenty minutes later when Clary came into the garage, walking over to Simon and asking him about a parts order he had asked her to put through urgently. They spoke quietly, most of their conversation drowned out by the pounding music, Simon pointing at a few things on the piece of paper that Clary was holding. Sebastian couldn't help but look over at the red head.

He liked Clary.

Not as in _liked_ her liked her. He didn't want to make her his old woman and make it all official shit. But he liked her. She wasn't like the other girls, probably because of the way that she had been brought up. She demanded respect and she had a quick tongue, and she was fucking good in bed. Or in the back of her car or in the shower. And his President didn't seem to mind too much that they were banging, as long as it wasn't something that was put on display, so they had kept it up.

But something had changed, and he didn't like it. The girls that he had been using in the mean time just weren't living up to what she was like, and he wanted her back.

And on days like this, where it was so hot it was sticky, and she was wearing a tiny shirt that showed off her midriff and a ripped pair of cut off shorts and slip on shoes, his cock got hard just thinking about the things she would let him do to the perfect ass of hers. When she finished with Simon, she walked back to her office, and he followed after her. She didn't know that he was following her until she sat down at her desk and saw him in the doorway.

"What do you want, Seb?" Clary sighed as she looked over at him. He gave her a slow smile as he stepped into her office and closed the distance between them, putting his hands down on her desk.

"I thought that maybe we could meet up after work," he began. "Head out for a few drinks, and then back to my place."

"No thanks," Clary brushed him off, looking back at her computer screen. The smile on his face faded slightly and he straightened up.

"Thought we were all good, Clare? Thought things were fine between us," he said to her.

"They are fine," she told him shortly. "That doesn't mean I'm going to fuck you."

"Why?" Sebastian grunted.

"Oh come on," she shot him a patronizing smile. "Let's not make a big deal and paint our nails about this." Sebastian's eyes narrowed at her, but she didn't look like she cared, turning away again. He stared at her for a long few seconds, but when she leaned forward and turned up the sound on her iPod dock, he knew that there was no way this conversation was going to continue. He spun around and stormed out of the office, his hands clenching at his side.

"Hey, Seb!" Simon called when he walked back into the garage. He was about to snap at him, but then he saw the reason that Simon was calling for him, nodding over to the silver BMW that was parked outside and the club slag that was hanging off it. She was wearing a black dress that really shouldn't be worn out in public, and she was gnawing down on her lower lip in a way that was probably meant to be sexy.

Right now, though, she would do.

"What's up with your car, sweetheart?" Sebastian asked as she approached him.

"Oh," she smiled up at him, batting her eyelashes and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "It just needs an oil change. But I don't know how to do that."

"It'll only take a few minutes, no problem," he smiled at her. She leaned against the car as he popped open the hood and emptied out the oil that was currently in the engine. He deftly changed the oil and then wiped his hands off on a rag. "All done," he told her, crossing his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging. He didn't miss the way her eyes travelled over his torso, and flashed when she saw his patch on the left breast of his vest. She was just like any other girl out there, who's panties got soaked right through when they saw a brother.

"How much do I owe you?" She cooed, stepping closer to him, her breasts jiggling in the bra that had to be at least one size too small for her.

"A round out the back," Sebastian told her with a smirk, holding out his hand. She grinned at him, taking his hand and letting him lead her back into the garage. The boys barely flickered an eyelid as she went through—this was barely a rare occurrence. "Just down here," he said loudly as he passed Clary's office, and he saw her head turn to the side. The bathroom was right next to her office, and as he sunk into the girls wet cunt, he made sure she was loud. He banged her up against the wall, slamming into her over and over again. The thong she had been wearing was ripped on the ground, and Sebastian grinned, planning on leaving it there and hoping that it was Clary who found it. "Say my name, girl," he growled against her ear. "Say Sebastian. Say it..."

"Fuck!" She squealed out in a breathy tone that scratched at his eardrums, but he would take it, knowing that Clary could hear. "Seb—Sebastian! Sebastian!"

* * *

"Hey, girly!" Isabelle sung out as she waltzed into the room. Clary grinned up at her, and the winced as she heard another thud on the wall. There was a moan and a grunt and Isabelle cringed, her eyebrows raised. "That's not what I think it is, right?" She asked.

"It's as though I'm the one that works in the whore house," Clary muttered.

"Hey, hey," Isabelle waved her finger in the air. "It's an exotic dancing establishment." She kicked the door behind her, closing almost all the way except for a crack, walking over to the wall and smacking her palm against it a couple of times. "Hey! Keep your fucking down! We're not into the cheap porno noises!" There was a particularly hard loud groan and another smash on the wall and Clary just rolled her eyes. Isabelle snorted and came over to sit down on Clary's desk, letting out a long breath. The red head frowned and leaned back in her seat, folding her fingers together over her stomach.

"What's going on, Iz?" She asked. Isabelle took in a deep breath and ran her fingers through her thick, dark hair before exhaling through her nose.

"Me and Simon are thinking about moving," she finally said. Clary frowned and tilted her head to the side.

"Moving? As in, moving in together?" She clarified.

"No, as in... _Moving_ moving," Isabelle replied. Clary's eyelids fluttered in surprise as she shifted in the computer seat. "Joining another charter, maybe a few towns over. A good couple of hours away at least, a half days drive." She swallowed hard and looked down at the ground. "Things are just feeling as though they're getting out of control here. I mean," she let out a short laugh and shrugged. "I mean, things are always crazy around here, but we were always family. It's been feeling less and less like that these past few months."

"What do you mean?" Clary asked, concern painted on her face.

"Alec's my brother—my _real_ brother," Isabelle said and realization dawned on Clary, nodding as he spoke. "And I hate that he has to hide who he is."

"I get that," her friend answered. "And it sucks."

"Not all clubs ask for their men to keep that hidden," Isabelle continued. "And I want Alec to be with one of them. _I_ want to be with one of them. And Simon just wants me happy."

"I understand, Iz, but..." Clary broke off and sighed.

"But—but what, Clary?" Isabelle raised her eyebrows.

"I really don't think leaving now would be a good idea," Clary said. Isabelle pursed her lips, but she clearly knew what Clary was talking about. Or at least what she was referring to. "There's changes going on here, and you never know. When it's all over, maybe things are going to be different for Alec."

"I don't ever see Valentine being okay with having a gay man high up in the club," Isabelle muttered.

"Well, it might not be Valentine in charge," Clary shot at her and Isabelle's eyebrows flew upward, toward her hairline. "Don't go spreading it around, but...Apparently that's what all the shit is about."

"A takeover?" Isabelle lowered her voice, even though the door was pretty much closed and the music was pounding in the garage.

"Yeah, a takeover," Clary confirmed. "At least, that's what mum said. I don't know the details, I don't know what I think, I don't know who's side I'm on—I just know that that's what is going on. Or at least, part of what's going on." Isabelle stared at her for a long moment before nodding slowly.

"I guess that's why Simon keeps saying that we should wait things out before going anywhere," she muttered.

"Probably," Clary nodded. Isabelle sighed and straightened up, smoothing out a few wrinkles in her dress. "I'll see you at home tonight?"

"Nah, I'm at Simon's," Isabelle said as she reached the door. "I'll see you tomorrow night though, okay? You want to come over for dinner at Alec's? Magnus is going to be there—you know Alec can't be separate from his boyfriend when he's back in town."

"Okay, babe, sounds good," Clary smiled as she opened the door the rest of the way and walked out the door. Clary watched the door even after she had disappeared and then went to turn back to her computer when there was a noise. Sebastian was standing in the doorway, watching her with steely eyes. Clary stared back at him, although her stomach was sinking, as she saw the way the corner of his mouth twitched before he left the doorway, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Shit," she hissed as she wondered how long he had been standing there.

 _Instead of songs, this time I want to rave about a couple of things I've watched on Netflix. Obviously, there's_ Jessica Jones _. Okay, I know, I know, I'm a total Marvel freak, but it's amazing! I've had a few friends who aren't into Marvel at all who watched and they were in love. The second is a documentary,_ Hot Girls Wanted. _It's kinda...Sad and shit, but it's really good. About girls who get into amateur porn and don't really know what they're getting themselves into. And then_ Sense8. _Ohmygod._ Sense8. _It is absolutely incredible. I wasn't into it at first, but I stuck with it, and we binged on the whole season in the weekend. It was unlike anything else I've watched, and I definitely recommend._

 _Oh shit!_ AND I SAW _Captain America: CIVIL WAR_ LAST WEEKEND! _Holy shit. Just as good as I had hoped. Couple of things I was a little iffy on but *sighs dreamily* it was very good. Sebastian Stan and Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner all in one movie makes me very happy :) So if anyone is a Marvel fan and wants to fangirl, don't hold back! Especially if you want to fangirl about Stucky or Sebastian Stan talking in Russian or Wanda, who I absolutely fell in love with in this movie._

 _But especially Sebastian talking in Russian, that was like a spiritual experience._

 _Let me know what you think, and I'll send out a preview for a review xx_


	13. Chapter 13

_First of all, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that it took so long to get back to all of your reviews after my last update. There was some weird syncing issue with the reviews and I wasn't able to reply to them normally, so it took a while to go through and reply to you all :( I'm sorry! Secondly, I re-wrote this chapter about four times and a couple of different ways. I think I'm happy with the way it turned out...Anyway! On with the chapter!_

It had been a long day.

Clary groaned and rubbed her hand over her eyes, leaning back in her seat. Most of the boys had left around four, the rest of them at five, but Clary had stayed behind to try and get everything finished. She turned her music up, had two cups of coffee, and now she was just about done. She always ended up working longer hours near the end of the month, when she had to finish up the orders and do the stock take.

"Clare," came a voice from the doorway and she looked up with a start.

"Sebastian," she breathed when she saw him standing there. "What are you still doing here? I thought you would have left ages ago."

"I did," he nodded, stepping into the room with the easy swagger that so many girls found attractive. Hell, she found it attractive as well. Most of the time. But definitely not when he was looking at her with his eyes narrowed as though he knew something that she didn't.

Or something that she _did_ know and didn't want _him_ to.

"I heard you talking to Isabelle earlier," he began and Clary's body seized. She tried not to look as though she felt like being sick, keeping her eyes locked on his face, but clearly she had a tell, because he noticed. He raised his eyebrows at her as he approached the desk, not bothering to close the door behind him. "I didn't hear the whole conversation, but I heard enough."

That could really mean anything, given the topics her and Izzy had covered.

"Alec's gay, hm?" Sebastian tilted his head to the side and Clary wasn't sure if she should be relieved or worried. Part of her was glad that he hadn't heard her and Izzy talking about the problems in the club, and the possible uprising, but Alec...Alec was like a brother to her. And he had worked hard to keep his personal life private. He loved the club like it was his family, and he was ready to spill blood in a heart beat for any one of them, but being gay would put him on the outside, there would be a divide between him and the rest of the brothers.

He knew it, she knew it, and Sebastian knew it.

"That's none of your business," Clary told him stiffly. Sebastian let out a laugh and tilted his head to the side.

"One of my brothers is keeping a secret from the rest of my family," he replied. "I'm pretty sure that's my business." Clary pursed her lips in a flat line, refusing to respond. Sebastian licked his lips and closed the rest of the distance between them. He turned her chair the rest of the way around so that she was facing him completely, and rested both of his hands on the arm rests, trapping her between his body and the chair. He dipped his head down, his lips coasting over hers before she pulled her face back and glared up at him.

"What the fuck do you want, Sebastian?" She asked, the anger in her tone barely controlled. But the thing was, she wasn't just angry. She felt trapped, and out of control in this situation, and that scared her.

"You know what I want, Clare," he didn't look apologetic at all as one of his hands moved from the arm rests and rested high up on her bare thigh. She felt her skin tighten and she swallowed hard.

"You wouldn't dare," she managed to say in a strangled voice, although she had a feeling the panic was starting to show in the edges of her eyes, no matter how hard she was trying to keep it away.

"Come on, Cla-riss-a," he sung out her name as his hand slid further up her thigh. "We've had fun before. I don't know why you're acting like you're so much better than me all of a sudden." Clary managed to get herself together for long enough to narrow her eyes into a menacing look that she had mastered well from her mother and the other strong woman that she had grown up around.

"You're blackmailing me to get in my pants," she spat at him. "I _am_ better than you."

"You liked it before," Sebastian was still smirking at her. "And nothing has changed since then."

"Nothing has changed with you," she emphasized and rolled her eyes, trying to force her body to relax, and give off the allure that she wasn't threatened by him. It would only encourage him if he could tell that she was worried by him, that she was panicked. "I don't want to screw around with you. Why do you even bother? You've got enough pussy willing to give itself up for you."

"But none of them are you," Sebastian's fingers edged up and under the loose hem of her shorts. Her body tensed again and it was as though her negative reaction was what spurred him on, because then his other hand was on her thigh as well, sliding up and under her shorts. Everything inside Clary told her to fight back. She had _never_ been the person to let things like this happen to her, she had been taught better than that. With the way Sebastian had her crowded against the chair and also just because of the sheer difference in size between them, there was no way she could overpower him physically. She had a gun that she kept in the second drawer of her desk, but what was the plan from there?

Shoot Sebastian?

 _Kill_ Sebastian?

That wouldn't go down well.

As much as she hated him, especially in this very moment, she knew she couldn't do that.

"So what? I let you fuck me?" she practically spat the words out at him, her upper lip curling in disgust. "And you don't tell anyone about Alec? Not anyone."

"You make it sound so crude," his words dripped with bitterness and vile and she jutted out her lower jaw.

"It _is_ crude," she growled. "It's fucking barbaric." Fear was now seeping through her veins as she stared up at Sebastian and she was anxious about what might happen. Panic felt as though it was closing in around her throat, and that knowing, cruel glint in his eyes seemed as though he thought that this was actually going to happen. He took another step toward her, so that his knees were bumping against the seat of the chair, one of his hands reaching for her hips, and then his lips were coming down on hers. For a moment, she wondered if this would be easier, for the sake of Isabelle and Alec. His thumbs were pressing into her hip bones, nails biting into her skin, and Clary bit back her squeak of protest. But then his fingers were worming there way under her waistband, hard and unforgiving, and she actually thought she might be sick, bile rising in her throat.

She gave him a look from under her eyelashes, covering his hands with her own. His eyes hardened a little, so she tried to soften her expression, trying to look as though she was going along with this. He released his grip on her, taking half a step backwards, and she moved slowly, not wanting to spook him. She turned around, as though to brace herself over the desk with her ass in the air for him, and he got distracted for a moment at the vulnerable position.

That was when Clary grabbed for the drawer pulling out the gun and turning back to face him with a steady gaze.

"Whoah, Clare..." Sebastian gave her a smirk, not at all nervous about the gun but stopping his advancement. "I think we both know that you're not going to shoot me." Clary swallowed hard but her hand was completely steady as her finger slid backwards to flick of the safety and then rest back on the trigger. The smirk on Sebastian's face faltered slightly.

"You touch me again, it won't be Valentine I go to," her voice was deathly quiet. "I'll go to my brother." Sebastian's face closed down at that, knowing that when it came to his sister, Jonathon wouldn't stick so closely to the rules of the club about attacking another brother. He wouldn't consider the consequences before lashing out in defense of Clary. "And if you tell anyone about Alec, I'll tell them about this. Either way Sebastian, you loose." He stared at her for a long time before sneering and stalking out of the room.

All breath left Clary's body, and she collapsed against her desk, her entire body convulsing.

* * *

Clary didn't even realize that she was home until she was pulling her car to a stop in the drive way and pulling her keys out of the ignition. She must have switched onto autopilot. But clearly she had been comprehensible, because she had driven to a liquor store and got herself a bottle of bourbon to drown out what had happened at the garage and the sick feeling it had given her in her stomach. Now that she was home, she seemed to snap out of her trance, and she looked at her hands, which were both pale and shaking almost violently.

"Fucking hell," she muttered, feeling angry at herself as she shook out her hands by snapping her wrists and then got out of her car. She slammed the door shut and headed inside. She was glad that Isabelle wasn't there, Isabelle would go fucking crazy if she saw the way Clary was looking now. She would know that something was wrong and she knew just how to get the truth out of her best friend.

And then the dark haired girl would sic Alec and Jon and Simon on Sebastian, and this whole thing would blow up, which was the opposite of what she wanted.

Clary shakily dropped her bag, keys and the paper bag on the bench and then walked down the hallway toward her bathroom. She pulled back the curtain and turned on the shower, purposefully turning the heat all the way up before going to her room. She undressed quickly, dropping her clothes onto the ground and kicking them toward the corner of the room before going back out to the lounge. She had also gone to the store next to the liquor shop and brought some heavy duty soap, the kind that the boys at the garage used to get rid of the grease that got into the grooves of their fingers.

It didn't smell good, but maybe it would be enough to scrub off the stink of Sebastian off her skin.

It didn't matter that he had barely touched her, her whole body felt vile from the unwanted contact.

She pulled the soap out of the bag and then paused when she heard her phone vibrating, and she fished around in her handbag for it. Jace's name was flashed on the screen and she felt her stomach squeeze in a not-so-pleasant way.

 _I miss you. Meet up tonight?_

The message was short and simple, and it brought a rush of tears flood to the back of her eyes, which just made her irrationally angry with herself.

There was no way in hell she could see him tonight.

Clary couldn't bring herself to reply as she dropped the phone back into the bag and walked down the hall to the shower. She stepped inside let out a hiss when the burning hot water ran over her skin. Quickly, her slightly tanned skin was turning a raw, red color. She swallowed hard as her body stung and she was tempted to turn the temperature down, but she forced herself to stand there and adjust.

She started scrubbing at her body with the soap, wincing as she reached her hips, which already had marks on them.

There were going to be bruises there tomorrow.

"Fuck," she gasped as everything seemed to wash over her again and tears back sprung to her eyes. Her body convulsed as she tried to push it back down, swallowing hard. She sank to the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees, which she had pulled to her chest.

She barely ever cried.

Actually, the last time she had cried, was the night that Jace had left her.

Before then, she was nine, and she had just seen her mother and father fight for the first time, using something more than words. Valentine had found her, curled up in her room, and he had squatted down in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking at her seriously. He had told her that his woman were strong, and that club woman didn't cry.

From that day forward, she had swallowed it down, and it had only been Jace that had made her break the pact she had made to herself.

She wasn't going to let Sebastian have the same control over her as Jace did.

Jace was worth it.

Sebastian wasn't.

 _Okay, so I'm going to recommend a couple of songs again! Mainly because I love so many songs that I just have to share them, and also because I absolutely love, love, LOVE you guys giving me songs back. So keep suggesting them, I have a massive list on my computer of your songs and I make my way through all of them :) Anyway, the songs this time;_ Still Here _and_ Devil Within _by Digital Daggers. Fucking amazing, a little bit haunting—both of them. And then there's_ Couple of Kids _by Maggie Lindemann is sweet and has this underlying sort of sad tone to it? But it's gorgeous and I'm addicted. And then the last one is Peach Arizona by drumaq. I've listen to this at least twice every time I get into my car. It's really chilled out and I'm just...God, I'm just in love._

 _Let me know what you guys think!_

 _I absolutely love hearing what you all think :) And for your review, there will be a preview xx_


	14. Chapter 14

_I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! Like I said, I had to write that one a couple of times, and it went a few different ways. Thanks for all your reviews and support._

 _Please make sure you're taking a minute to leave a comment, just a few words, at the end. There's lots of you guys reading and following, and it means a lot for you to take a moment to say something :)_

"Oh, God..." Maia Roberts sighed, her fingers curling into the silk sheets of her bed. Jordan's tongue was buried deep inside his girlfriend, one of his hands wrapped around her thigh and the other resting on her stomach, which was curved outwards ever so slightly. Usually woman tried to hide it when they put on weight, but Maia had been proudly flaunting the couple of extra pounds that she had recently put on due to her pregnancy. "Baby, that feels—oh, God!" Her moan was even louder as his hand tightened around her thigh and he brushed his teeth over her clit.

"Come on, babe," Jordan murmured, pulling his face away from her for a moment. It only took another minute before she was flowing over his tongue and he was sitting up and rubbing a hand over his mouth. He took in a deep breath before falling down on the bed next to his woman, staring up at the ceiling.

"That was...That was good," Maia grinned as she rolled onto her side, throwing her leg over his waist and tucking her chin into his shoulder. "I think it's true, what they say."

"Oh, I know it's true," Jordan laughed. "You have been way hornier than usual." Maia laughed and rolled her eyes. It was a couple of minutes before Jordan got up to tie off the condom and throw it in the rubbish. When he came back into the room, Maia was under the blankets, and she smiled and rolled over to give him room to get into the double bed with her. Jordan climbed in next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"So how's Jace doing? Being back?" Maia asked.

"It's great having him around," Jordan said. "But it doesn't really feel like he's properly back. He's distracted."

"Do you think that it has something to do with the girl? She was the reason that he left in the first place, right?" Maia propped herself up on her elbow so that she could look down at him.

"He never said that directly, but yeah, I'm pretty sure it was. Something to do with her, at least," Jordan replied. "Stephen knows that something is still up with him. He's asked me to keep an eye on him." Maia raised her eyebrow in surprise and Jordan exhaled heavily, pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I know."

"He asked you to spy on your best friend?" Maia asked.

"And he wants me to find out who the girl is," Jordan sighed. "He wanted to know four years ago when she was with him then, and now...Now that he's looking at moving over as President, he wants to move Jace into his spot."

"Ooh," Maia winced. "How's Will going to deal with that? When Jace left, he moved up as VP. He's still the VP. Jace doesn't have that spot back, even though some people think that he should. _He_ probably thinks he should."

"I don't know," Jordan shrugged. "But to be honest...It honestly doesn't feel like he's back, not fully. And Stephen is still my President. And so I'll do what he needs me to do."

* * *

Jace sighed as watched the blood wash down the drain. He scrubbed at the back of his hands before turning them over, and then grabbing his towel and drying them off. He looked at his reflection in the dirty cracked mirror and made a face, noting how puffy his right eye was and knowing from experience that it was going to bruise tomorrow. It wasn't the first and it definitely wouldn't be the last time that he caught a few punches in a fight, and he ignored the way his nose was aching and his lip was stinging.

"That felt good!" Mark let out a whoop, grinning as he rubbed his hand over his face. He looked even worse than Jace, his teeth bloody and two of his fingers bent at wrong angles. "You ready for another round?"

"You're fucking crazy. You realize that, right?" Jordan rolled his eyes as he ducked past Mark and walked over to where Jace was standing.

"Oh, come on!" Mark was still grinning as he walked over to where Jace and Jordan had been washing her hands. "That was a good time."

"Can you honestly not keep it in your pants for just two minutes?" Jace shook his head.

"Did you see the rack on that girl?" Mark smirked. "There was no way I wasn't going to be able to go after her."

"Did you see the rock on that girl?! She was clearly engaged!" Jordan stated. "And her man was _twice_ the size of you!"

"Yeah, but I knew that the two of you had my back," Mark clapped Jace on the shoulder, clearly not picking up on the pissed off vibe that he was giving off. "I think I'm gonna head back out there, see if he's up for round two—"

"I don't think so, Blackthorn!" Jordan grabbed Mark and pulled him back. "I think it's time to head home." Mark looked like he was going to start arguing but he cut off when Jace shot him a dark glare. He huffed under his breath, and headed back out the door, but instead of heading back toward the club, he turned jerkily to go out the front door. Jordan looked over at Jace, who was glaring down at the ground. "You okay?"

"I can't believe we're still picking up after Mark after all these years. Going after chicks that are clearly taken," Jace sighed again. "It's like nothing has changed in the four years that I was gone."

"That's not true," Jordan said, crossing his arms over his chest. Jace sent him a questioning look. "You've changed." Jace snorted and Jordan lifted an eyebrow. "You have."

"I'm four years older," Jace shrugged.

"Well, that too," Jordan pursed his lips. "But there's still something else, and you know what I'm talking about."

"You're pretty stuck on this girl that you think I'm with, aren't you?" Jace noted.

"Brother," Jordan rolled his eyes impatiently. "You forget that I've known you since we were two. I know you better than anyone." Jace swallowed visibly and Jordan sighed. "You're still not going to tell me who she is, are you?"

"I'm not," Jace replied. "Anyway, it's late. I'm going to head home."

"You can come back to my place? Maia always cooks way more dinner than we need," Jordan offered.

"I don't know what part I find harder to believe," Jace grinned, looking happy with having the conversation moved away from himself. "The fact that you and Maia are going to be parents, or the fact that Maia now cooks dinner." Jordan let out a short laugh. "The last time I checked, she was getting plastered and dancing on table tops every night of the week." Jace tilted his head to the side as he remembered something. "She gave you a run for your money when it came to who could handle the most X as well."

"Not into that shit any more," Jordan shrugged. "You're not the only one who grew up." Jace nodded and then reached out his hand, palm upward.

"I'll see you at church tomorrow," Jace said as Jordan slapped his palm down against his. He didn't give Jordan any time to argue, and left in the same direction that Mark had. The bar was rowdy, and the place had only gotten louder since the brawl that Mark had started over a tart who clearly didn't care one bit that she was meant to engaged to someone else. He got outside and took in a deep breath through his nose.

It was a little after two, and the town was pretty much completely silent. The bar was located right on the edge of town, and Jace had to admit, the reason he had agreed to come out here when Jordan and Mark had invited him, was because he was hoping that Clary would have text him and asked him to come over. It would have only take him about twenty minutes to get to her place at top speed on his Ducati. But she hadn't text, and she had ignored his call at around ten, just like she had been doing for the past week and a half. He couldn't figure it out, but he wasn't clingy, he knew when his girl needed space.

Jace decided to forgo the helmet tonight—it was only a ten minute drive back to his place anyway. The night air felt good blowing through his shaggy hair, getting rid of the slight haze from the beers and shots he had been doing with the boys. He pulled his bike to a stop and swung his leg off, taking in a deep breath as he scrubbed a hand over his face. He was back living in his two bed-roomed flat which used to belong to his father before he had married his mother and moved into a nicer, more family friendly place when she fell pregnant with him. Stephen had kept the place for when he needed some time away, but he had hardly ever gone there, and it had ended up being more like Jace's hideaway as he got older. Celine had kept the place tidy for him while he was away, and it was good being back.

He pulled off his leather cut, hooking it over the chair in the corner of his room, and then stripped out of his tee-shirt. He was unbuckling his belt when his phone started vibrating in his back pocket, and he almost broke it in his eagerness to answer when he saw Clary's name flashing on the screen.

"Babe? What the fuck's been going on? You haven't replied to any of my texts or calls," he asked her gruffly as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Hey, Jace," Clary said softly, something about her voice sounding off. Jace took in a quick breathed and toned down his annoyance.

"What's going on?" He repeated to her, a little quieter this time.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she told him, not sounding convincing at all.

"Clary," he said her name firmly.

"It was Sebastian," Clary finally said, clearing her throat.

"Sebastian..." Jace thought for a moment, mentally scanning through everything he knew about her families gang. "Verlac."

"That's the one," she went quiet again, and he heard some shuffling on her end of the phone. "Some shit happened, and I just need some time, okay?" Jace's whole body was bristling at her words. He knew what she wasn't telling him the full truth, but he also knew that she was just as stubborn as him, and if she didn't want to tell him, then she wouldn't.

"But you're okay?" Jace asked through clenched teeth.

"I'm okay," Clary confirmed.

"I can come over," Jace began reaching for his shirt. "I can be there in less than half an hour."

"No!" Clary cried out and Jace sighed. "Look, I'll give you a text later on. I just...I need you to leave me alone right now, okay? But I wanted you to know that I was okay. And I just wanted to hear your voice." Jace pinched the bridge of his nose and Clary exhaled heavily on the other side of the line. They were quiet for a long few minutes, just breathing into the phone, and he could hear the slight catches every time she exhaled, and that was what told him not to push this. Finally, she spoke again, her voice so soft he could barely hear it. "Jace, I..."

"I know," Jace assured her softly. "Me too." They stayed on the line for another few minutes before Clary disconnected the call, and Jace dropped it to the bed, falling down next to it and letting out a groan.

 _Okay, okay, sooooo the songs this time aaaare ;_ Reforget _and_ The Other _, by Lauv. I found these about two weeks ago and I've just been listening to them non-stop ever since. I'm completely head over fucking heels for them. Then there's_ Soldier _by Samantha Jade,_ Don't Let Me Down _by Chainsmokers and_ Lover, Fighter _by SVRCINA. Those last three have all been on repeat every time I get in my car, completely in love with them._

 _Let me know what songs you guys are addicted to at the moment! Please, please, please! I love your suggestions._

 _Another thing; I find it really, really, really hard to find fics that I enjoy and keep my attention. I haven't actually read any Clace, other than stories I've been previously following, in a few months, I've become totally obsessed with the_ Teen Wolf _fandom and, of course,_ Captain America _. But I came across one called_ Picking a God _by IosoIUno and it's ah-mah-zing. Check it out. Also if you guys have any good story recommendations, let me know._

 _Aaaaand, please let me know what you guys thought of the chapter :) Your reviews make me ridiculously happy and they're what keep me writing. And for every signed in review I'll send out a preview xx_


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey guys! There's a couple of things that I need to say and they're kinda serious/sad/angry/whatever so I thought I'd get them over with at the beginning, and then my authors note at the end would be a happy one :) So if you guys wanted to skip forward, totally understandable._

 _The first thing; there's been some real negative reviews going around. Everyone gets them, it's going to happen. It totally sucks, but it's unavoidable. But some people have been going out of their way to leave insanely long, detailed descriptions as to what they hate about stories and, come on, that's just unnecessary. I try to just delete flames and not think about them, they suck and sometimes I get a little pissed off and discouraged, but I try to ignore them. Sometimes it really gets to writers though, and they get mental blocks and choose to stop writing. Can we please just be nice? Constructive criticism—absolutely, but there's a difference. Remember we write for free, and for fun! Come on, everyone!_

 _The second thing; I try not to mention world events on here or even on my social media account for several reasons. But I did want to say I was so upset when I heard about Christina Grimmie dying! I have listened to her on YouTube for years, and I was actually listening to her the morning that I found out she was shot. It's so horrible. I think what freaks me out is I've just listened to her for so long, and she's the same age as me, and it just so scary...It's just not okay :(_

It was now the beginning of the third week since Jace had seen Clary. Apart from phone call and a few vague texts, he hadn't heard anything else from her, and he was past worried and just plain pissed off now. When he asked what was wrong, she just text him back saying that she was fine and was busy and just needed some time. But he had no idea what she needed time _for_ because she wouldn't let him in, so he could only draw his own conclusions.

And none of them were good.

And so here he was. Sitting in a tiny hole in a wall bar where the youngest person other than him was a long haired forty-two year old man. But that was good, because it meant that there weren't any girls trying to get his attention and bothering him.

Leaving him to get completely plastered alone and in peace.

He lost count of how many bourbons he had thrown back, his fingers tight around the glass and swallowing back the amber liquid.

Maybe this was her way of breaking up with him.

 _Again_.

Just slowly freezing him out.

And maybe breaking up would be the better option.

Before they were in too deep.

 _Again_.

That made him snort and finish off his drink, holding up his hand to get the bartender over to pour him another drink.

 _Before they were in too deep_.

He loved Clary. He was sure he had loved Clary from the minute they had officially starting dating, if you could call sneaking around and scattered, stolen moments 'officially dating'. First it had just been a couple of random meetings; he had been reasonably certain that she was only doing it as part of the teenage rebellion thing. As if being the daughter of the towns most powerful and dangerous man wasn't enough, she needed to sneak around with one of his enemies sons. He was also a couple of years older than her, which made it all that much more forbidden.

But it had slowly morphed into something different.

They stopped meeting up just to fool around, and he started showering and putting on cologne, actually worried about what she would think of his appearance as he shoved mousse in his hair. He took her out to the beach one night—pretty much any time they were in public together, it had to be night—and he had watched her standing in the water, only wearing her bra and underwear. He had run out to her, grabbing her around the waist and spinning her around. She had squealed and laughed, and he had twisted her around in his arms, her legs going tightly around his hips and her hands resting on shoulders. And then he had asked her if she wanted this to be a thing, because he didn't want to see anyone except her. She had looked a little uncertain, chewing down adorably on her lower lip before giving a determined nod.

When they had broken up, just after she graduated from high school...He didn't think he had ever had another pain that resembled that. And he had been shot three times, as well as falling off his motorbike while going high speed along the high way.

It had been so bad he knew he needed to get away, and that was when he had spoken to his father, telling Stephen that he needed a change of scenery, and had transferred out to one of the brotherhoods they had an alliance with. It had taken a while, but he had adjusted to a life without her. There had been other girls, but no one serious. Just someone to fill the void and warm his bed. It was actually one of the other woman of the club, the wife of their president, who had spoken to him. Charlotte Branwell had sort of taken her under his wing since she joined them, because her own son had been killed several months before he had moved out there, and she had told him to go back.

To fight for Clary.

To see if they could actually make things work, now that they were older and a bit more mature.

And that was why he was back here now.

Or at least it _was_ , until she started ignoring him.

Was she into this Sebastian guy?

Was that her problem?

Because everything he had heard about him, he was not the kind of guy that she should be involved with. He was dangerous, and maybe a little bit unhinged.

"Oh, shit!" There was a voice in his ear, and Jace was bumped into the bar, and he cringed as he felt liquid seep through the shirt on his back. "My bad," the man who had barged into him grunted and then sighed. "Oh, for fucks sakes. Bartender!" His voice was grating in Jace's ear; maybe something to do with the fact the man had just spilt his drink all down Jace's back. "New drink."

"Just a moment, sir," the bartender gave him a quick smile as she finished up with her other customer. The man waited all of two seconds before impatiently yelling out again that he wanted a drink. "Won't be a moment," the bartenders voice was a little sharper this time. The man growled under his breath and Jace turned his head to glare at him.

"She said she would be with you shortly," Jace snapped.

"I don't remember asking you for your opinion on the matter," the man shot back at him. Jace's whole body was tense, vibrating with angry energy, and this man wasn't helping things. He looked away from the man, swallowing back the anger that was rising in his throat. It had been under his skin for three weeks, and it wouldn't take much to set him off. "Goddamn biker boys, think you own the place," he muttered under his breath and Jace locked his jaw. He slammed his drink down and turned his head back to the man.

"We got a problem here?" Jace bit out, his temper flaring easily.

"Oh, I don't know—" he didn't even get to finish his sentence before Jace was pulling his arm back and punching him square in the nose, the sound of it breaking filling Jace with some sort of relief. It felt good to be letting out his anger, and when the man turned around to fight back, Jace threw everything he had into his jabs, not caring that his knuckles were being bloodied and that he was taking a few kicks and punches. He just cared that there was something else for him to focus on other than the ache he had in his stomach from missing Clary.

* * *

Clary was staring blankly ahead at her screen. Her mind was a hundred miles away, and had been since she had had her run in with Sebastian in this very room just over three weeks ago. She didn't want to call what they almost had sex, because she had always enjoyed sex, but she couldn't really call it attempted rape because...Because Clary could never think of herself as someone who had nearly been taken advantage of like that.

She was _not_ a victim.

She was strong.

And the moment she started second guessing that, she wasn't sure she wouldn't break down and curl in a ball.

Jace knew that something was wrong, but there was no way Clary would tell him what was wrong. He wouldn't hesitate to break Sebastian's neck.

Isabelle knew something was wrong, but there was no way Clary could tell her what was wrong. She would tell Simon and Alec and then _they_ would kill Sebastian.

So she had kept her mouth shut, and kept her gun close.

"Clary?...Clary?" She blinked and turned toward the door. Max was standing there, holding a couple of sheets of paper in his hands, but it was his face that drew her attention. Clary's eyes narrowed as she stared at the younger boy.

"What the fuck happened to your face?" She snapped at him. Max pursed his lips and let out a grunt, shaking his head. "No, don't give me that shit," she shot at him. She got up from her seat and walked over to where he was standing, jerking the boy into the room and slamming the door behind him. "What the fuck is going on, Max?"

"Club business," he said evasively, not meeting her eyes. "It's nothing."

"That's not nothing. If it's club business, then I would have heard about it," Clary said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on, Clary," Max snorted bitterly. "There's a lot going on here that you're missing." Her eyebrows furrowed even deeper.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. Max sighed and held out the papers in his hand.

"Can you just order these?" He asked, sounding resigned. Clary snatched the piece of paper from his hand and looked it over. It was the standard order for a car that they were fixing up, but she wasn't letting her best friends baby brother walk out of the room without an explanation. He had a split lower lip, a black eye and scratches on his cheek. "I'm fine, Clary," Max's voice was a little softer now as he saw the concern etched on her face.

"Has your sister seen these? Or your mum?" Clary lifted her hand to twist his head from side to side, two fingers holding his chin firmly.

"It only happened last night," Max muttered, his eyes lowered as Clary put her fingers to his cheek.

"What happened last night?" Clary's voice was harder this time. "What the fuck is going on here, Max? I'm fucking sick of all of these half answers."

"You're not the only one, Clary," Max sighed. "You know that I'm only a prospect, I don't know all the details."

"Then tell me what you _do_ know," Clary demanded. Max sighed again, looking toward the closed door and then back toward the determined red head. "If you think you're going to be able to make it out that door without me twisting your nuts so hard you go purple, then you're crazy." Max made a face at her and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"The Prez is going crazy," he said bluntly. Clary blinked at him, her eyes going wide before locking her jaw and nodding for him to continue. "He's freezing people out. The brothers. Other clubs. He's turning on our allies—he's fucking them over." Clary's body stiffened as he continued. "Me and Simon went to a pick up a shipment of guns. It was meant to be with the Mongrels, but Stephen called us at the last minute—right before we were left—and said that it was just going to be me and Simon. We called Jon on the way there; I mean, it was meant to be a four man team picking it up and we didn't think we could handle it all on our own."

"Wait," Clary frowned. "Dad sent you in there two men down?"

"Well, the Mongrels were meant to be the other two guys," Max muttered, scratching at his hair. "So, yeah. We were two men down."

"And the deal went bad?" Clary assumed.

"You could say that," Max grunted. "The actual deal went down well, but it turns out the Prez hadn't cleared things with the Mongrels, he had just told them that it was a different night."

"He tried to double cross them?!"

"Yeah!" Max's voice was rising. "And he fucking sent us in there to get fucked—" he cut himself off and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them and shaking his head. "Look, bottom line, the Mongrel guys still showed up, and they realized we were fucking them over. So they, well," he gestured at his face. "You know."

"And Simon?"

"Looks the same," Max muttered. Clary nodded. She locked her jaw as she looked at him critically.

"What do you know about the takeover?" She asked. Max's eyes widened and his cheeks whitened.

"Uh, I can't—I don't—I'm not sure—nothing," he finished lamely. Clary continued to glare at him, but Max's lips were pressed together firmly, and she could tell from the resolute expression on his face that there was no way he was going to say anything further. She sighed and shook her head.

"I'll order your shit," she told him. "Take the rest of the day off."

"Oh, no, I'm fine—"

"Take the rest of the day off," Clary repeated. She gave him a small smile and then reached forward to press a kiss to his cheek. Max gave her a kiss back and then disappeared from the room. Clary sighed and collapsed back in her seat.

 _Happier authors note! I promise! A lot of people keep recommending_ War of Hearts _by Ruelle in the reviews. I do love Ruelle, and I love that song, although it's not my favourite by her. Thought that I would just recommend it though, since obviously lots of you guys love it! Other ones that I'm in love with at the moment_ Ritual _by Adam Jensen and_ Rust _by Stalgia. Also a cover of Justin Bieber's_ Sorry _by Our Last Night._

 _Let me know what you guys are listening to! I want to know!_

 _Also, there's been a few more questions about my updating schedule. It's on my profile, people. Check it out._

 _Leave a review, make my day, and I'll send you a preview :) xx_


	16. Chapter 16

_We've finally got some Clary/Jace interaction going on in this chapter. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how long it had been since we had some proper Clace in this one. So I hope this is satisfactory._

What the fuck was happening to her life?

She thought that back when she had broken up with Jace, when she was nineteen, that things would sort themselves out—at least as much as they ever would.

Things in her life were always going to be a little crazy, given the family she was a part of, but that was something she had always thought that _they_ were going to be something she could rely on. Her family came first. Her family put each other first. They were willing to die for each other, willing to kill for each other—and yet Max had just told her that her father had chosen to put them in harms way.

Max.

Little Max Lightwood, who she had grown up with and babysat when he was younger. And also Simon Lewis, one of her best friends and closest confidants over the past few years.

Her father had put them in danger.

By fucking over another club.

That was one of the last things you ever do, anyone in their life knew that. When you have an alliance with a club, you keep true to that alliance. Because MC members knew how to hold a grudge, and they definitely knew how to get their revenge. Stephen knew that! And yet he was greedy enough to put his men, his _brothers_ — _his family_ in danger.

 _None of this was making any sense_.

And so instead of driving home, Clary found herself driving straight for Jace's place. She hadn't planned to see him again—not for a long time—but she didn't even realize that _that_ was where she was heading until she was just out of his town. She almost slammed both her feet on the brakes when she realized it was only just after six, and it was still pretty light outside. Usually they reserved things like this for the middle of the night, except for the other week when Jace had snuck into her place in the middle of the day. She was pretty sure he had driven his ute and parked it behind her house, rather than driving his bike.

At least, when she was thinking 'usually', she meant they _used_ to. Things were all a little different now.

It wasn't like her car was all that recognizable, so she took in a deep breath and continued through town. She had been to Jace's place a couple of times, although it wasn't too hard to find, she just hoped that he didn't have anyone over. Like one of his other brothers...Or a girl.

She wasn't sure which one was worse.

Clary drove down the driveway to his house, tucking her car into the car port behind it and then getting out, her stomach churning as she pulled a jacket on, tucking it around her neck and buttoning it up. She hadn't even text Jace to tell him that she was coming—maybe he wouldn't even be home. She swallowed hard as she approached the door and was about to rap her knuckles against the wood when it swung open. Jace stood there, shirtless, and a beer in his hand. His face was a thundercloud as he looked her up and down, before taking a step back to silently let her in. She looked around, her eyes finding the fridge and making a beeline, pulling out a bottle of beer.

She was going to need a drink before they started on this.

Clary took a long pull and then turned around to look at Jace, who was just watching her with narrowed eyes.

"So you've decided to grace me with your presence," he finally bit out at her.

"Don't be an ass," Clary sighed, rubbing her hand over her face. Jace flattened his lips into a line but didn't say anything else. They stared at each other for a long time, before Jace sighed and put down his bottle of beer. He walked over to her, taking the beer from her and discarding of that as well before putting his arms around her shoulders and pulling her in tight against her body. He squeezed her in a way that if anyone else did it, she would feel crushed and smothered, but when did it, she just felt cared for and protected. He buried his face into the curve of her neck, taking in a deep breath, inhaling her scent which he had missed a ridiculous amount.

He had always just had this calming affect on her.

Even after all these years.

He was the one that made her feel as though everything was going to be okay.

"Are you staying the night?" He asked roughly. She hadn't thought about it, but she jerked her head in a nod, knowing that there was no way she could leave him now. "Are you hungry?" She shook her head. "Okay. Go have a shower. I'll get you some clothes to change into." Clary nodded and followed the path down to the bathroom. She showered, enjoying the feel of the high pressured water soaking through her hair. She used his body wash, and there was this aching feeling in the pit of her stomach as she lathered herself up, and realized that she now smelt like him. When she stepped out of the shower and gripped and towel, pulling it around herself, she saw a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. They were too big for her, but they were warm and comfortable. She walked out into the lounge, rubbing down her hair, drying it the best she could.

"Thanks," Clary said as she put the towel down over the back of a chair.

"No problem," Jace replied carefully, his eyes never leaving her as she took a few steps closer to him. "Are you going to tell me what's going on? What happened?" Clary stared at him before lowering her gaze.

"There's a lot going on at the moment," she muttered.

"In the _Phantoms_?" He clarified.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Anything you..." he paused. "Anything you can tell me?" He continued. Clary sighed. With a normal boyfriend, this would be the point when she could spill her guts, tell him everything that was wrong and going on in her life. She gnawed down on her lower lip and then exhaled sharply.

"Izzy is thinking about leaving," she finally stated.

"Isabelle?" Jace looked confused. "Why? The Lightwoods are all a part of that MC. They always have been. That's their life."

"It's complicated," Clary muttered. Jace nodded shortly. It had been decided a long time ago that they wouldn't discuss their clubs. It was too dangerous for either of them, and they were both viciously loyal to their brotherhoods, to loyal to say anything. "But I don't know what I'll do if she does leave. She's my best friend and she's my sister in all of this—I don't know how you did it, Jace. Just left everyone behind." His eyes darkened at that and she sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"My brothers are everything to me, Clary," he told her. "But you were more." She swallowed visibly at the intensity in his eyes. "I couldn't stay here and not be with you."

"Jace, I didn't—"

"But this life is the only one I've known, and I couldn't not be a part of it anymore—I couldn't go nomad," Jace continued. "They were good people, in the club that I moved to. And you would like them," he gave her a pointed look. "Maybe if Isabelle is leaving, you should—"

"I can't do this, Jace. I can't talk about this," Clary told him. "Not right now." It was clear that he wanted to talk about it further, but he nodded curtly and didn't push it. She felt awkward, standing in the middle of the room, and it wasn't a feeling that she liked; it definitely wasn't one she was used to, when being around Jace. He let her stand there for a little bit longer before reaching out his hand to her. She walked over to him, sitting down on his lap and curling her body into his. He slid a hand underneath her shirt, his hand splaying out over her lower back and she couldn't stop the tension that jerked her spine straight.

"Clary?" Jace pulled his hand away from her, looking confused and a little hurt.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "It's nothing."

"That wasn't nothing, Clary," Jace frowned at her. "What happened? Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?" His voice had dropped to a dangerous tone and she shivered.

He would never hurt her.

He could _never_ do that to her.

Her body relaxed again and she slid a hand around his neck, pulling him down to her. The kiss was gentle at first, his lips tasting her upper lip, licking at it softly, before dropping to pull at her lower one. He brushed his nose against hers and then kissed his way up to her forehead. Clary sighed as his hands went underneath her shirt again, but never going further than where her sides dipped in at a gentle curve. His mouth found hers again, coaxing her lips apart with his tongue and then finding hers, dancing with it slowly, as if they had all the time in the world.

She liked this.

Everything they had always felt rushed, as though they had to fit as much as they could into the least amount of time.

They kissed for what felt like hours, and when they stopped, it was dark outside and Clary's stomach let out an embarrassingly loud grumble. They both laughed and Jace thought for a minute, before saying,

"I've got a pizza in the freezer."

"You sure know how to flatter a girl," she replied wryly and he let out a laugh.

"I live to please," Jace smirked at her. She got off his lap and he disappeared into the kitchen, giving her time to look around the lounge. She already knew that he was kind of a clean freak; he was all for throwing off clothes when they were caught up in the moment, but she didn't miss the way that he would fold their clothes before she got up in the morning, and her towels were always tidily arranged in the bathroom before he left. It was unusual for a guy, but she wasn't complaining. He had a wide screen TV mounted on the wall, and there was a couple of DVD's underneath. The rest of the room was pretty sparse, some mismatched furniture, a photo of him and his mother framed on the coffee table, a couple of books and then the most surprising item, a piano, tucked into the corner of the room.

She had heard him play once before, and it had been beautiful.

It had made her fall in for him just a little bit more.

"Give it half an hour, and then it'll be ready," Jace told her. Clary gave him a small smile. He picked her up easily, moving her from the armchair to back in his lap. He traced his fingers over her back, and Clary's eyes drooped a little at the soothing contact. "Clary?" His voice was a little strained and she opened her eyes, fixing her gaze on him. "I love you," he said, his hand stilling on her back. "I think I always have." Clary's body was frozen as she stared at him. Jace looked worried and nervous, which was a look and a feeling that he wasn't used to. "Clary?"

"I can't...We can't—" she broke off, her chest rising and falling as she breathed heavily, scrambling off his lap to stand up.

"Oh, come on, Clary," Jace tried to laugh to lighten the situation. "I think we're past that."

"No, you've never said that— _we've_ never said that! We can't!" Clary turned her back on him, her eyes widened in panic.

"Clary, come on. You have to know that's how I felt..." he trailed off as he stared at her. "You don't feel the same way?" His voice dropped a few octaves. Clary took in a deep breath, her hands clasped in front of her, the nails of one hand digging into the palm of the other. "Clary?"

"For fucks sakes, Jace!" She cried, spinning around to face him. "Of _course_ I feel the same fucking way! But we can't do that, we can never actually _be_ that kind of couple! It's just going to hurt a whole lot more when we—"

"You think I'm going to let you go again?" Jace got up and closed the space between them, letting out a snort. "You think that I came back here to just fool around with you again, like we did before?" Clary's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I'm not letting you walk away again Clary, and I'm not leaving again, not without you." Clary blinked at him and Jace lifted his hand to put his finger under her chin, folding it firmly. "I love you, Clary," he repeated, his voice firmer this time. Clary swallowed hard as she stared up at him.

"I love you too, Jace," she finally whispered.

 _I'm gonna take a moment here to completely fangirl over_ Harry Potter _. Me and my hubby had a bit of a marathon over the weekend and it just brought back my complete love for it all over again. The books, the movies—_ Harry Potter _is life! Haha. My favourite line in the whole series—which totally isn't meant to be funny and shit but makes me piss myself every time it comes on because I was high as hell when I first watched the movie is '_ oh no, the invisibility booster must be faulty! _'. Once again, not funny, but holy shit, I just can't stop myself from melting own whenever I hear that line. My fave characters are kind of completely opposite personalities. Hahaha. It's Ron and Bellatrix. Completely love them both. Closely followed by Hagrid, Snape and McGonagall._

 _Tell me your favourite_ HP _character! I'm all about the fangirling :) xx_

 _Let me know what you thought of the chapter. Leave a review, they make me oh so happy :)_


	17. Chapter 17

_You guys sounded pretty happy with the confessions that came from the last chapter! Haha. Glad you liked it :)_

"If I let you go, are you going to ignore me for the next few weeks?" Jace tilted his head to the side and gave Clary a pointed look. She just rolled her eyes as she leaned over and tore off the corner of his toast, popping it into her mouth. "So?" He asked pointedly.

"You really think that you could stop me if I really wanted to go?" She smirked at him as she braced her hands on the edge of the table and looked down at him. Jace narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down. She was only wearing a pair of barely there panties and one of his loose shirts that had a few buttons at the top, all of which were undone. Her hair was in a complete mess of curls and knots around her heart shaped face and her make up from yesterday was still partially there, and he honestly thought that she looked pretty damn close to perfect.

"Probably not," he answered honestly, before letting out a laugh. Clary grinned at him and let him reach around the table and grab her waist, pulling her onto his lap. He kissed her mouth lightly, brushing his nose against hers and then offered her the rest of his toast. "But only because I don't hit girls," he whispered cheekily in her ear.

"Whatever," Clary mumbled through her mouthful of toast. "I could take your ass down."

"You threw a punch and didn't even break my nose!" Jace protested.

"That's because I didn't want to!" Clary argued back. "I know how arrogant you are about your looks. You would have pouted for a week if I gave you two black eyes," she poked him in the side and then laughed when he jerked at the ticklish feeling. Then she lifted her eyes to look up at the clock on the oven and sighed. "I really should go," she sighed. "I have to be at work at nine, and I still need to get home and find a change of clothes."

"I'm sure the Prez's daughter can get away with being a little bit late," he gave her a pleading look. The easy smile dropped off her face and she went back to eating her toast. Jace realized that the joking mood was over and moved his hands so that they were completely around her waist, linked behind her. "If it's dad issues you know you can talk to me about that," he told her. "I can totally relate to those."

"No, you can't," Clary wiped her hand across the back of her mouth, getting rid of the remaining crumbs. "Your parents love you, and they love each other." Jace blinked at her, surprised at the observation. "Oh, come on," she let out a short laugh. "The way that you talk about them? Your dad is one of the Presidents who is loyal to his old lady, right?"

"Well, yeah," Jace nodded.

"The way you talk about your parents, and I guess..." her cheeks actually reddened slightly before she finished her sentance. "And I guess the way you treat me? Despite the life we're in and the mess that we've got going on, you've always treated me well. It's a reflection of your father." Jace's lips parted and she rolled her eyes, leaning forward to kiss him quickly on the lips. "And that's about as mushy as I'm going to get with you, buster."

"I'll take what I can get," Jace answered, but as she tried to move from his lap, he tightened his grip on her. "Come on," he told her. "Your dad," he reminded her as she gave him a quizzical look.

"Right," she exhaled again, and then shrugged. "He's just got a lot going on at the moment, I guess. It's just...It feels like..." she took in a deep breath and ducked her head, but Jace felt the catch in her body. "It's not just Isabelle, okay? With things that are changing?" Her words were coming out fast. "The club—it's not the same as it was before! It feels like something is missing, that my family is falling apart! And I don't know what to do, Jace! And my dad—oh, God, my dad is so caught up in whatever shit is in his head at the moment that he doesn't even know mum is sleeping with Luke—"

"Luke? Luke Garroway?" Jace was taken aback by that. Luke Garroway was the VP, and that meant that Valentine trusted him with his life. Clary's eyes widened as she realized how much she had said and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Jace sighed and shook his head. "I'm not going to say a word to anyone, baby. Don't worry."

"Shit, shit, shit," she growled, pulling away from him and stalking up and down the kitchen. "Shit, this is why we have our rules!"

"Clary, it's okay," Jace began again.

"Look, I need to get dressed!" She snapped. "I need to get dressed and head back!" She was walking out of the room before he had time to process what had happened. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms over his bare chest. He bowed his head as he tried to push the information he had just heard out of his head, knowing that he could never repeat it.

This was why they needed to get away.

There was never going to be an alliance between the _Devils Hand_ and the _Silver Demons_ , because they had been rivals for as long as anyone alive had been a part of the clubs. There was apparently some ancestral argument between Valentines great-grandfather and Stephens great-grandfather, which had lived on through the generations. At one point, Stephen had spoken with Jace and Will about wanting to put the feud to rest, but Valentine had thrown his deal back in his face.

Stephen was too proud to bring it up again, and Valentine was too stubborn to admit that he needed any help, even though other clubs were beginning to close in on him.

Jace wouldn't tell Clary what he had started to hear, there was no way he was going to ask her to tell him how much was true, because he didn't want to put her in that position. And, in all honesty, he didn't want to know, because he would feel obligated to take that back to his father and his club and he wasn't one hundred percent certain that he wouldn't do that.

"Call me later, okay?" Jace shook his head as he heard his womans voice from the doorway.

"I will," he forced out a smile and the one he got in return was a little tense. He got up from his seat and followed her through the kitchen and the living room, to the front door. She was back in her clothes from yesterday, although Jace liked the way she still smelt like his body wash. "I love you, girl," he told her, putting a hand around her neck and pulling her in for a kiss. It was wet and hot and when Clary stepped back, the tension was completely gone from her face and her breathing was slightly labored.

"I love you too, Jace," she replied. Jace's grin lit up his whole face and she reached around to give him a playful smack on the ass before turning around and skipping around the side of the house to where her car was partially hidden, definitely obscured from anyone driving past. She pulled out of the driveway, giving one last toot before she disappeared down the driveway, and then Jace walked back into his house. He walked into the kitchen, starting the clean up of the plates and cups they had used this morning. He didn't need to be anywhere in a rush—the pair of them both had early body alarm clocks, so had been up since six, and it was only just half past seven now. He left the dishes to drip dry and grabbed his cigarettes and lighter from the kitchen table, walking out to the front porch to have a cigarette...

...Walking directly into Jordan, who was standing by his bike with a grim expression fixed on his face.

Jace pursed his lips as he felt his body tense, putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it up, bracing one hand on the wooden rail of the balcony. Jordan continued to stare at him and Jace exhaled a cloud of hazy smoke, taking the cigarette out and finally talking.

"How long have you been here?" He asked shortly.

"I drove up as you were hooking up with your overnight buddy," Jordan replied as he took a few steps closer to the porch. Jace narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering if Jordan had recognized who the girl was. "You know what's funny?" Jordan raised an eyebrow. "I've actually seen you with that girl before. It was ages ago, before you left. I was out with that chick that I was seeing before Maia, the one who lives up at Gulf Point? Like an hour from here? Right by the beach?"

"I know where Gulf Point is, Jordan," Jace said through gritted teeth. He and Clary used to go out there in the weekends, because it was pretty far away from both of their towns, and neither of them had known people there.

Or at least, they hadn't thought they had known people there.

"And I thought I saw you up there with this chick. This red headed chick who I knew. She's the daughter of Valentine Morgenstern," Jordan's eyebrows were pulled together as he walked up the steps to the porch, stopping in front of Jace. "And at the time, I thought that I was just stoned out of my mind and had this girl under the table giving me a blow job. But...That was her. Again."

"I don't know what you're talking about—"

"Don't try and play this off, bro," Jordan cut him off. "I knew there was a chick. I know it was a girl that sent you running the first time, and then you came back, and I'm guessing that you came back because you loved her. Like I already said to you. And I...I wasn't the only one, okay? Stephen knew there was a girl before, and he was pretty sure you came back for a girl." Jordan pursed his lips and took a moment before replying. "He asked me to keep an eye on you." Jace almost spat out the cigarette that he had put back in the corner of his mouth.

"My father asked you to watch me?" He snapped in disbelief.

"In my defense, I didn't want to," Jordan shrugged. "But yes."

"Right," he muttered. "Great." The two of them went quiet for a few minutes before Jordan took in a deep breath through his nose and turned back to Jace.

"I have to tell Stephen," Jordan said quietly. "Even if he hadn't asked me to find out who this girl was, you know I would have to tell Stephen. He's my President." Jace nodded, clenching his jaw as he stubbed out his cigarette on the wooden railing and then dropping it to the grass. "Unless you tell him first," Jordan continued. "Which would be the better option. Because this isn't just a one of thing. This is serious. And it should come from you."

"I know," Jace sighed. "I know."

 _Oh my god, so I re-watched_ What A Girl Wants _in the weekend, it came up on my Netflix. Forgot how much I loved the movie. And—holy shit—I realized it came out thirteen years ago! I feel so old. I can't even remember the amount of times I watched it when I was about twelve or thirteen. I also had a massive crush on Oliver James, it was ridiculous. But he was just such a babe! And he had a guitar and a motorbike, which was just so cool when you were a teenager ;) Haha. Oh and a couple of songs from there which I'm in love with is_ Half Life _by Duncan Sheik and_ Ride of Your Life _the cover by Oliver James._

 _Also, side note, I'm thinking about a werewolf AU. Can you tell I've been reading too much_ Teen Wolf _? Haha. But what's your thinking? Jace would be an Alpha and Clary would be human. What are your thoughts?_

 _Please leave a review, and let me know what you think :) I'll send you a preview for a review :)_


	18. Chapter 18

_Thanks so much for your reviews and support in the past few chapters!_

Jordan had left only a couple of minutes after the short discussion with Jace, leaving the golden haired boy lighting up another cigarette as he stood shirtless on his balcony. Once he finished off the smoke, he stubbed it out and walked back into the house, letting out a groan as he rubbed his hands over his face. Jace trusted Jordan, he knew that his friend was doing the right thing by him, and he was taking a chance by not going straight to Stephen with this information. What he could do in return for his best friend and brother was by not dragging this out any longer than necessary.

Jace had already showered this morning, with Clary, and he ran a brush through his hair, finding a clean shirt and then slipping his vest of the top. He considered tucking his gun into his belt at the base of his back, but then decided it would probably be better he didn't go into this armed.

It wouldn't look too good, and right now, he needed as much on his side as possible.

He opted for his pick up truck over his bike and put his cellphone in the glove box. It was still reasonably early, almost nine, so there was a good chance that his parents were both at home before leaving for work. It would be better to handle both of them at the same time—because if Stephen lost his temper, it was only Celine who stood a chance at calming him down.

And like he had thought to himself earlier, he needed as much on his side as possible.

The trip into town only took five minutes, and he pulled into his parents driveway, glad when he saw his mothers car still parked there. She was always the one who left first, so if she was still there, then Stephen would be as well. He sat in the car for a moment, his fingers clenched around the steering wheel, his knuckles bloodless and his breathing labored. He had faced a lot of hard decisions and awkward conversations in his life, but this was going to definitely make the top five, probably coming just underneath the break up with Clary. He finally gathered the courage to force himself out of the car and toward the house. He rapped his knuckles against the door and then walked into the house.

"Who's there?" Came a gruff call from the lounge.

"Just me, dad," Jace replied, toeing off his shoes in the doorway, not wanting to incur Celine's wrath. Stephen gave him a smile as his son joined him in the lounge.

"Hey, Jace," Stephen gave him a relaxed smile and nodded for Jace to sit down on the couch next to him. "What's up?" Jace took in a deep breath, letting it out heavily through his nose before glancing around the room.

"Is mum here?" He asked.

"Yeah, in the kitchen," Stephen's smile dropped as he heard the younger mans tone. "Oi, Celine!" He raised his voice as he called out to his wife. There was a few seconds before Celine appeared in the doorway, looking perfectly dressed in her usual work wear. She gave a wide smile when she saw her son on the couch but then stopped to lift an eyebrow when she saw the serious expression on his face.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," Stephen turned to looked back at Jace. "What's going on, Jace?"

"First of all, Jordan told me that you asked him to follow me," Jace began, figuring he would start there. Stephen didn't look apologetic, simply shrugging a shoulder. "If you wanted to know about a girl, you could have just asked me."

"This is about the girl from before he left? You were having him followed?" Celine raised an eyebrow as she looked sideways at her husband before focusing back on her son. "Are you back with her? Is that what this is all about?"

"You knew about the girl?" Jace blinked.

"I'm your mother," Celine huffed. "I'll always know."

"Right," Jace muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Yes. Yes, there was a girl. It was a shitty break up and that's why I left."

"Because you had a broken heart? Shit, boy," Stephen snorted and slumped back in his seat. "She must have been one hell of a special girl if she had you acting all fucking pussy whipped, running out of here with your tail between your legs."

"Stephen," Celine gave him a warning look. She turned back to Jace and gave her an encouraging nod.

"Her name is Clarissa Fairchild-Morgenstern," Jace stated, forcing to keep his voice even. Stephen's eyebrows flew upward and Celine's eyes widened. He let it sink in, and then Stephen jumped from his seat.

"You're fucking the daughter of the _Silver Demons_ president?!" He roared. Jace didn't blink, he didn't move, staring ahead stonily. Celine was just staring at her while Stephen began pacing the lounge, his steps thumping down on the ground and his fists balled at his side. "What the fuck were you thinking, Jace—what are you _thinking_?!" Jace knew that there was nothing he could say right now that would help the situation so he just stayed quiet, but backing down when he saw his fathers furious glare.

"How long?" Celine asked after a few minutes, anger in her voice but clearly a lot more controlled than Stephen.

"Now, or before I left?" Jace managed to reply through gritted teeth.

"Both!" Stephen snapped. Jace's eyes narrowed as he looked back at his father but Stephen was glaring at him with a look filled with rage and meeting his eyes right now probably wasn't the best idea.

"It was for...It was for two years, before I left," Jace said, his voice dropping a little. "And it's been ever since I got back."

" _Two years_?!" Stephen shouted.

"Stephen!" Celine hissed, looking over at him angrily. "Let me handle this!" Stephen parted his lips to say something, but her steely gaze was fixed on him and he let out another huff, closing his mouth. There was only one person around who could quiet the president of the _Devils Hand_ and that was his old lady, and she was doing one hell of a job right now, because if it was just Jace and his father—his president—right now, the windows would be shattering outward from the force of the dressing down that Jace would be receiving. She turned back to Jace and took in a deep breath. "Did you come back for her?" Jace took in a deep breath and she narrowed her eyes at him. "And don't you _dare_ lie to me, Jace Herondale." He pursed his lips together before answering.

"Yes," he finally muttered. Celine sighed and looked over at Stephen, who had stopped pacing and was now staring out the window.

"Two years, Jace?" Celine exhaled sharply. "And you didn't think to clue us in about this?"

"At the start it was just...It was just sex," Jace began.

"Oh really? And, what? Her pussy made of gold or or cocaine or some shit? Because the last I heard, we had girls around here that you could just fuck around with just as well as—"

"Hey!" Jace was on his feet, shoulders rising and falling as he glared over at his father, cutting him off. "Don't you fucking talk about her that way! I said that it _started_ that way, but it definitely fucking didn't finish that way!" Celine frowned as she watched her son. Jace had been keeping his eyes turned downward, as a sign of respect, but it didn't escape her that the anger in him had risen at Stephen's insults to the girl.

"You love her," she noted suddenly, letting out a disbelieving snort as she leaned back in the armchair she was sitting in. Both men turned to face her and she shook her head. "Well? Am I wrong, Jace?" Jace looked across at his father before back at his mother.

"No," he confirmed. "I love her."

"And that's why when you two broke up, you left," Celine nodded, looking almost understanding but carefully keeping her expression neutral, knowing that if it looked as though she was taking sides then it might just set Stephen off again. "Shit, how old is that girl, Jace?"

"She's twenty-three," Jace said quietly.

"Twenty-three? And you left four years ago, and you were together for two years..." Celine did the math in her head and then sighed. "So she was seventeen? She was just a kid, Jace." Jace didn't say anything, wetting his lips with his tongue and pursing them together. "So what's happening now, Jace? Because as soon as her father finds out that you've been defiling his little girl—"

"I don't know, okay?!" Jace's voice rose. "I wanted—I wanted her to leave with me! I wanted us to go away together, somewhere we can actually come together!"

"You were going to leave?" Stephen's tone was deadly. Jace swallowed hard as he turned back to his father. "You were going to leave the brotherhood?"

"No, dad," Jace stepped closer to the older man. "No, I just wanted us to be with another club—I wanted us to go back to the club that I was with when I left, the _Phantoms_. They are allies with both us and them, and we could be together, and—"

"And, what?" Stephen snorted bitterly. "You're going to play the Brady Bunch? Have some little brats? Turn your back on your family?!"

"I would never turn my back on my family," Jace growled, his body prickling at the idea. "But I can't help that I fell in love with her, and that's made her my family as well." Stephen opened his mouth to say something but Celine held up her hand. Stephen let out a frustrated growl, lashing out and punching at the wall, plunging through the cream plaster. Celine sighed and shook her head; it wasn't the first there had been an angry hole punched in the wall of her home. Stephen and Jace both had legendary tempers.

"I think that you should go home, baby," Celine said softly, looking over at Jace. Jace looked torn, but he nodded once. He looked over at his father one last time, before storming out of the lounge. He didn't bother doing up his shoes when he shoved them on, and was accelerating out of the driveway in no time.

* * *

Clary got to work just after nine, in a change of clothes but still smelling like Jace, and she practically skipped into the garage. Simon and her brother gave her funny looks but she just grinned back to them as she walked to her office. The day went by uneventfully—she didn't get any texts from Jace but she shrugged it off. Sometimes they went days without texting, it wasn't anything particularly unusual. After work, she was driving home when her phone vibrated against her thigh. She pulled it out and smiled when she saw the name on the screen.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Clary," Jace's voice sounded strained.

"What's wrong?" Clary frowned, her foot switching over to the brake, indicating to pull over to the side of the road.

"It's my parents," he told her. "I've told them about us."

* * *

It didn't take Clary long to get to Jace's, especially since she was driving twenty kilometers over the speed limit most of the way. She didn't even consider her surroundings as she pulled up outside his house and got out of the car, yelling out his name as she jogged up his steps. He opened the door and caught her in his arms.

"Hey, baby, I don't know if this is the best idea right now," he began as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I had to see you," she told him. "What the fuck happened? Why did you—" she cut off when there was the sound of another car behind them, and both turned around to look over at the red vehicle. Jace sighed. "Who is that?" Clary asked as she squinted at the tinted windows.

"It's my mum."

 _Alright! Now, in regards to the story idea I brought up in the last chapter, the werewolf AU. I've decided I will go ahead with that! It won't be posted for a while, but I've written a couple of chapters to see how I feel about it. The lovely_ FrenchBenzo _and_ reppinda5o3 _have read the first chapter, and are listening to me ramble as I try to put the story together, so a big thank you to them :)_

 _Couple of highlights of the past few weeks for me—the song_ Garden _and_ Trouble _by Halsey. Shit, they're both incredible. Also, the_ Wonder Woman _trailer! How fucking badass does Gal Gadot look?! The song_ Sad Song _by We The Kings, I absolutely love it. And, oh my god, how have I never known about Tyler Posey's nose piercing?! Holy shit, it just made me fall in love even more. Oh yeah—and I'm going to_ Suicide Squad _tomorrow! I'm a little bit worried because of such mixed reviews, but I hope it's good._

 _Please leave a review, let me know what ya'll think, any recommendations for songs or fangirling about_ Wonder Woman _or Tyler Posey (or anything_ Teen Wolf _related). I'll send out a preview for a review xx_


	19. Chapter 19

_We're definitely getting into some drama with Clary and Jace and also with the clubs! Glad you guys are enjoying it :)_

Jace took in a deep breath, locking his jaw as he looked to his left. Clary was sitting on his couch, her hands wrapped around the handbag that she had brought into the house. He had absolutely no doubt there was a gun inside, and even though he knew that she wouldn't pull it out, it put him on the edge that it was in there. It really shouldn't, given how many guns were hidden around his own house. But sitting on his couch, beside his girlfriend, with his mother sitting on the armchair on his other side, he was feeling more than a little tense.

"You're not going to need that," Celine finally said, breaking the silence first, her narrowed eyes directed toward the bag in Clary's hand. Clearly she knew that there was a gun inside as well. Clary's shoulders tensed but she shifted her fingers away from the zipper of her bag slowly. "So what is it that you do with your cunt that makes it so special my son turns his back on his own people?" Jace's eyebrows raised and he turned to Celine to angrily say something but Clary beat him to it.

"I don't know, but clearly he does the same special thing with his cock because I betrayed my people as well," Clary replied, her voice icy but even. Celine tilted her head to the side, obviously a little surprised by Clary's response, but after a long moment, a small smile spread across her face.

She was impressed.

"You two need to be careful," Celine said, looking between the couple. "You need to figure out what's going to happen here, because this isn't going to stay quiet for too much longer. So; me, Stephen and Jordan know. And how many people know from your side, Clary?" Jace looked across at his girlfriend and she pursed her lips.

"Two," she said quietly.

"Right," Celine jerked her head in a nod. "And if you two are serious about each other, then more people are going to find out. You can't keep it quiet forever." She focused on the small red head. "My son wants you. He wants you enough to endanger his relationship with me, and with his father, and the rest of his brotherhood. He is usually a good judge of character, and of a situation. I hope he wasn't wrong about you." Clary didn't reply for a moment, before she exhaled heavily, put her handbag down on the ground and then reached across to touch Jace's hands, linking her fingers with his.

"He isn't," she murmured. "I feel the same way." Jace's eyebrows raised. "He told me that he wanted to go away...And I think that's what we need to do." His body reeled in surprise and he looked between his mother and his girlfriend.

"What?" He managed to finally say, completely taken aback. Clary nodded hesitantly, weaving her free hand through her hair.

"I've been thinking about what you've said...And about what Isabelle said," she was talking in a halting method, looking nervous. "I think that maybe...Maybe you guys are right. Valentine is..." she took in a deep breath and licked her tongue over her lower lip. "Valentine isn't putting the brotherhood first anymore, and that's what the club is all meant to be about, putting on another first, _family,_ " she swallowed hard, tightening her hand around Jace's. "And...It's not like we can be together here, right?" There was a smile pulling at the corners of Jace's mouth, his whole face soft and warm, and Celine felt her own body soften in response to seeing her son look so happy.

"Right," Celine nodded and then looked between them again. "Right, well, you need to figure out what you're doing and where you're going. Soon." She directed her gaze at Clary. "I don't know the details, baby girl, but your father is going off the rails." Clary prickled at the words but she didn't say anything, knowing that the older woman was just stating facts. "It's no secret that he's creating enemies left and right, and I don't want you to be in that town when it all comes to a head, which is going to be soon." Jace squeezed Clary's hand and she looked over at him.

"We'll talk about it, mum," Jace said quietly. "Okay?"

"Okay," Celine nodded. She took in a deep breath and stood up, running a hand through her hair and standing up. "I'll see you later, alright? I don't want anything hasty happening without you saying anything to me." Jace nodded at her and she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "And it was good meeting you too," she gave Clary a half smile before turning to let herself out of the house. The young pair were quiet in the house as they waited for the car outside to start and then the wheels to fade away from crunching on the driveway. Then Jace turned to Clary.

"Were you serious?" He asked her.

"I think so," Clary whispered, standing up and walking over to the window, watching Celine's car disappear. "I think...I just need a little bit of time. To process everything, you know?"

"Okay," Jace nodded. "But...Not too much time."

"I'll think about it," Clary repeated, her voice a little firmer this time. Jace took in a deep breath through his nose and nodded. He leaned back against the cushioning of the sofa and then let out a short laugh. "What?"

"Well, today really didn't go the way I expected it too," he admitted ruefully. Clary huffed out a laugh as she walked back over to him.

"No," she shook her head. "No, it did not." She laughed again and Jace grinned, reaching out to lace their fingers together again, pulling at her hand until she was step up even closer to him. The smile dropped from her face as he let go of her and dropped both of his hands to her thighs. She was wearing a short, loose black dress with a cropped denim jacket over the top, the dress showing off her toned legs. His hands traveled up the front of her thighs, underneath the front of her dress before sliding around to her ass and cupping it. She took in a deep breath as he drew her in closer and pressed a kiss to the center of her legs, through the material of her dress and underwear. "Me meeting your mum turned you on?" Clary let out a teasing snort, but there was a slight breathlessness to her voice.

"The fact that you're willing to think about coming away with me?" Jace curled his fingers between her thighs, separating them, and then one of his hands pushed up her dress at the front and placed another kiss over her center, this time only through the barrier off her underwear. "That's what's turning me on, babe."

"Shit," Clary sighed. "Shit, shit—" she let out groan and then leaned down and tangled her fingers in her head, pulling his head up to hers. Their mouths crashed together and Clary felt the weeks of them being apart burning right from the pit of her stomach. There had been a couple of kisses last night when they had been together, but she knew she didn't want sex at that time, and he seemed to have gotten that vibe so he hadn't pushed anything. But today was completely different, and just his hands resting on her ass was making her feel crazy. His thumbs were hooked around the band of her underwear but he wasn't doing anything quickly and Clary felt a rush at needing him.

 _Now_.

Clary pushed down her underwear and straddled him, her hands on his shoulders and his hands sliding up her dress. Jace pushed her hair out of the way, flipping it over one shoulder so that he could press a kiss to the bare skin between the collar of her jacket and the curve of her neck. She sighed and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access to her throat, and he tongued his way up the column of her neck. His teeth tugged at the lobe of her ear and she sucked in a sharp breath. She slid a hand between them and rubbed her palm against his cock, which was hard in his jeans. Jace's hand went to her bare hips and dug his nails into her skin.

"God, babe..." Jace sighed as her fingers fumbled with his zipper and button, slipping her hand inside and pulling his cock out. There were some clumsy movements on both of their behalf as they shoved down his jeans over his hips and down his thighs, and then jerked off his tee-shirt. She rubbed her hand up and down his cock and he growled when she swiped her thumb over the head. "Fuck!" He shoved her jacket off, letting it fall to the ground with her underwear, and then jerked her dress over her head. "Fuck..." he repeated with a sigh of admiration when he saw that she was wearing no bra. He leaned in, his lips finding one of her breasts, closing around her nipple and flattening his tongue against it. He sucked hard until she pulled on his head so that she could kiss him again.

Clary's chest was heaving as she rubbed the head of his cock against her clit. Jace let out a groan as she positioned herself over him. He reached to the side to open up the drawer of the coffee table and pulled out a condom, handing it to her. Clary ripped the packet open with her teeth and slid it over him. Jace licked his tongue over her lips, dipping it back into her mouth and sucking on her tongue. He loved the way she tasted, and he loved the way he could feel her shuddering and gasping as she slowly began to take him inside her. She sunk down completely, taking all of him, and her body tensed for a moment as she adjusted to him.

"You always feel so fucking good," Jace breathed into her mouth. Clary nodded her head breathlessly a couple of times, never letting her lips shift from his as she began to ride him. Jace thrust up into her, holding onto her hips and grunting into her mouth as she used his shoulders for leverage. The sound of their skin coming together and their sighs filled the room. Their kiss was sloppy as their movements became jerkier, Jace's fingers digging into her ass, pulling her down harder onto him.

"Jace...Babe..." her nose bumped against his as she muttered out his name. "I'm...Fuck, I'm—"

"Come on, babe," Jace murmured, biting down hard on her lower lip and then growling out when he felt her clench around him. She pulled away from his mouth as she felt her climax coming and let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a whine and a sigh, and Jace was close behind her, groaning out her name.

 _So me and the hubby have been on a total Disney binge the past week or so. We've gone through_ Treasure Planet, Mulan, Pocahontas, Zootopia _and_ Lion King _. Yeah, we may be in our twenties, but you're never fucking too old for Disney! My hubby's favourite Disney song is_ Circle of Life _from Lion King, and mine is_ Colours of the Wind _from Pocahontas, very closely followed by_ Two Worlds _from Tarzan. Tell me, tell me yours :)_

 _Also, I'm re-watching_ Numb3rs _right from season one. I used to absolutely love this show—it's still absolutely awesome. Charlie is adorable in the shy, nerdy way, and then Don is hot in the surly, mutter-mutter glare way. LOL._

 _Anyway! Leave a review, let me know what you think :)_

 _I'll send out a preview for all logged in reviews xx_


	20. Chapter 20

_Update, update, update! Just before heading in, quite a few of you guys have asked for my name for Facebook and Snapchat and tumblr (although I'm barely ever on there). And that's totally fine, I love meeting you guys on there and it's so much easier and talk via PM and shit. But you need to tell me your name, because if you add me and we have no mutual friends, I'm just gonna leave you chilling in the limbo section. Haha. So just make sure you're telling me your name as well :)_

"You going to stay the night again?" Jace asked, his hand idly running down her back, his fingers playing over her smooth skin and tracing her spine. There was a shiver that ran through her and he couldn't help but grin as he reached the dip of her back and she stretched, letting out a contented sounding purr. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and rested his head there.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Clary replied, her voice muffled by the cushions. "Isabelle is usually home through the week so she'll probably be back tonight. She'll wonder where I am if I'm not there." After they had pulled apart, their bodies slightly sticky, they stretched out on the sofa, Clary face down, her head resting against her folded arms, while Jace propped himself up on one shoulder, touching her body and kissing her soft flesh. "Anyway, there's, uh...There's a couple of things that I need to get cleared up."

"You mean with the _Demons_?" Jace asked softly. Clary hesitated before nodding once. Jace pursed his lips and sighed, tapping his fingers against her back before shifting himself into a seated position. Clary looked over at him, and he met her gaze. "Mum was right, you know. It's no secret what's going on with Valentine and the _Silver Demons_. Details are slowly leaking about the club, and what he's been doing, how he's been treating his brothers."

"Mm," Clary mumbled non-committedly, dropping her eyes, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Clary," Jace said firmly, waiting for her to look up at him before he continued. "Valentine has screwed people over. He backed out of a deal with the _Mongrels_ just the other week, and that was the last straw for them. He lied straight to their Prez's face, telling them that they the deal was going down on a completely other night. The Prez retaliated, sending a couple of the men in to get pay back and they—"

"I know what happened," Clary interrupted him, twisting herself around so that her naked body was facing the ceiling, rather than the couch. "Both of the boys...Both of them were close friends," she swallowed hard and ran a hand over her face, pinching at the bridge of her nose, Jace's eyes trained on her face. "One of them was Isabelle's little brother, and the other was her boyfriend. My brother got there a little bit later, I haven't actually talked to him since, but I think he was fine. Or...As fine as he can be."

"Does he know that you know what happened?" Jace questioned.

"I don't think so," she answered. "Max didn't really tell me too much, he wouldn't have told me _anything_ if I hadn't pushed it."

"You can be pretty convincing when you want to be," he gave her a wry smile. Clary gave him a tight smile in response and let out a short breath through her nose.

"I guess the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' thing between us is out the window, aye?" She muttered.

"If we leave, we can join a club together. We can go back to where I was with, the _Venoms,_ " Jace licked his lips, not wanting to seem as though he was pressuring her, but wanting to remind her that they had other options. That they didn't need to be from two different sides for the rest of their lives—they actually could be together, properly. "And then there doesn't need to be secrets between us."

"There's always secrets between a club brother and his old lady," Clary murmured, sounding a little broken, looking at him through her thick eyelashes.

"No, there isn't," Jace said determinedly, his eyes darkening. "There isn't with my parents, and there never was." Clary still looked a little uncertain but Jace reached out to cup her face, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone as he held her face firmly. "And I'm pretty sure that there's no way I could ever keep anything from you. You would see straight through me."

"You _are_ a pretty shitty liar," Clary admitted with a slight curve of her lips. Jace nodded and leaned down to kiss her. It was just a brush of his mouth, but Clary felt a spark run right through her as he tightened his grip on her hair and rubbed his nose against hers. He butterfly kissed her cheeks and over her eyelids before pressing one last one to her forehead and then staring deeply into her eyes.

"I want this, Clary," he told her. "I want you and me. I want us together, properly." Clary stared at him and let out a breath through her nose, the indecision still apparent in her eyes.

* * *

Clary was careful when she left, a lot more careful than she had been when driving to Jace's. She actually made sure she checked the road before she drove out, and then made sure to keep her tinted windows up. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, humming under her breath to a Beth Crowley song playing on her iPod and coming through the speakers.

She had been thinking about Jace's suggestion ever since the first time he had brought it up, a few weeks ago.

Sure, she had dismissed it quickly when he had mentioned it, but that didn't mean it didn't play over and over in her head later on.

At the time, she had thrown it back in his face that he was being a coward, turning his back on his family by leaving the club, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe leaving was actually the stronger option, because it was being able to admit that she was ready to move on with her life, and become a part of something else, something new. Something _better_.

And it wasn't really as though she was turning her back on the club. Jace had already told her that the club he had become a part of was neutral, it didn't have ties to either the _Silver Demons_ or _Devils Hand_ , which meant that she wouldn't be making a move against her club. It wasn't common for people to leave their club and join another, but Jace already had an alliance with them, and if she was with Jace, then she would be accepted.

If she was with Jace.

If she was Jace's old lady.

That was what they were working toward, but the idea that it might actually happen—that this might come true...Clary's stomach did flip flops just at the thought, feeling all floaty and light headed.

But she couldn't get ahead of herself, she had to take all of this one step at a time.

And the first thing that she needed to do was find out what was happening with her family, with her club. The person that she needed to speak with though wasn't her brother or Simon or Max, who would only give her half truths, and it definitely wasn't her mother, who would try to sugar coat things because despite the fact she had raised her daughter to be strong, she still treated her delicate.

So as Clary drove back to her town, she indicated to turn toward Luke's house. She had grown up bouncing between the houses of all the brothers, but the Lightwoods and Luke's were the places she had gone to the most. She arrived at his house a couple of minutes later, pulling over to curb and getting out of her car, slamming the door behind her and walking up the overgrown path toward the house. She only knocked twice before the door was swinging open, and Luke was grinning at her.

"Hey, baby girl," Luke greeted her.

"Hey, Uncle Luke," Clary replied with a smile, letting him wrap an arm around her and give her a squeeze. "How's it going?"

"Better since I've seen your pretty face," he winked at her. "Come on in." Clary followed Luke into the house, kicking the door shut after them, and joining him in the lounge. The lounge looked like the typical bachelors place, except there was a coaster on the coffee table, and two wine glasses, one with a lip stick smudge. Then there was a cardigan hung over the back of an arm chair.

Her mothers cardigan.

She pursed her lips as she looked between the cardigan and then back at Luke. Luke didn't look guilty, and he met her gaze steadily, so at least he wasn't about to try and cover anything up.

"How long ago did she leave?" Clary asked, raising an eyebrow knowingly.

"About an hour ago."

"Right," Clary nodded. "Well I should probably take that with me."

"Many thanks," Luke gave her a nod. At least he had enough respect for her not to try and lie his way out of it. She picked up the cardigan and then sat down on the armchair, taking in a deep breath. "What's on your mind, girl?"

"I want you to tell me what's going on with the club," Clary told him bluntly. Luke narrowed his eyes slightly, picking up the open bottle of beer that was on the side table, beside the couch where he was sitting. "I want you to tell me about this takeover that you're leading, and I don't want you to leave things out because you don't trust me, because for fucks sakes, Luke; you better believe that I can keep a secret." Luke nodded slowly, his lips pursed, tapping his finger against the side of his bottle.

"Your mother told you?" He asked.

"She's told me some of it," Clary replied. "And then I've heard bits and pieces from around. It's sort of hard to miss that there's something wrong when Max shows up at work all beat up because my dad has decided that his men aren't as important as screwing over another club and making money." A nerve in Luke's jaw twitched and he exhaled sharply, his anger showing on his face.

"Valentine has had a couple of problems over the past few years," Luke began, his voice low and gruff, like it always was. "He used to be a good president, and a good man. You know that I felt that way about him, Clary. He used to be my best friend," Luke's face looked genuinely disappointed, and Clary believed him. Luke was a good man. He always had been. And until now, even with him running around with Jocelyn, Clary didn't know just how bad things had gotten between her father and her surrogate uncle. "But he's gotten...He's gotten power hungry. Money greedy. And he's put that above the club."

"He never put anything before the club before," Clary muttered. "What changed?" She narrowed her eyes. "Does he know about you and mum?"

"You think that one us wouldn't be dead if he knew about me and Jocie?" Luke asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Good point," Clary conceded tightly. She rolled her shoulders. "Is that going to be any different after all of this goes down?"

"I hope so," Luke told her, looking directly at her. "You know that I still love your dad. Just because he's not my closest friend anymore, doesn't mean he ain't my brother."

"But...You will..." she drew in a breath between her teeth. "You will kill him if you need to, in this quest to take over the _Silver Demons_? If that's what it comes to? Because sometimes in a take over...Sometimes it comes down to that." Luke stared at her for a long time, and his silence was enough. Clary took in a sharp breath, ducking her head and staring down at the cardigan in her hands. Her breath was catching in her throat and she tried to keep her voice even. "Luke...You can't do this."

"There will be a vote, just like there should be," Luke uttered. "But you know your father. He won't go down without a fight, and taking as many people down with him."

 _Okay! Now a couple of things. First things first; songs I'm addicted to at the moment._ Bubblegum Bitch _by Marina and the Diamonds. I watched a fanvid for Lydia Martin (who's a queen, btw) and I heard the song on there and I'm now completely in love. Then there is_ Closer _by Chainsmokers and Halsey,_ Gravel to Temple _by Hayley Kiyoko and_ Homeostasis _by Nostalghia._

 _The next thing is; either_ Without A Clue _or_ Feet First, Don't Fall _is going to become one of my stories that gets updated twice a month. Which one would you guys prefer?_

 _And then lastly—I'm so sorry, there's so many!—one of the new stories that I'm working on is going to be one where they're all pretty much tattooed. So my question to you guys is do you guys have any suggestions for tattoo's? I've got quite a few ideas, but I decided I'd open it up to you guys, get your ideas. We've got our usual; Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, Magnus and Alec, but then there's also Raphael and Kaelie. So let me know, and the meaning behind the tattoo or what it could possibly stand for, and I'll note it down and might include it :)_

 _That's everything!_

 _So leave a review, let me know your ideas, thoughts, suggestions, etc etc!_

 _Love you all :) xx_


	21. Chapter 21

_A lot of you guys are worried about our poor Clary :( There aren't too many chapters left! On with the chapter..._

After she left Luke's, she drove straight to her parents. It was late, so there was a good chance that her father was there, but more and more often, she had been driving home from work around five or six and she would see his bike at the clubhouse. There wouldn't usually be too many other bikes there, if any, but sometimes there were a couple of cars. Clary knew that Valentine cheated on Jocelyn when they were out on rides, but usually he kept to harmless flirting when he was in the same town as her. Clary wondered if that had changed recently, and it made her stomach twist uncomfortably at the thought of her father disrespecting her mother like that.

In all fairness, though, Jocelyn was cheating on Valentine right back.

The whole thing was a fucking mess.

Clary pulled into her mothers driveway a few minutes later, checking the time on her phone as she got out. It was almost eight, and she sighed, realizing that this long day was just going to get longer. She got out of the car, remembering her mothers cardigan, and walked into the house, not bothering to knock as she opened the door and tucked her phone and keys into the pocket of her denim miniskirt.

"Mum?" She called out.

"In here, baby," Jocelyn called back. Clary followed the voice and found Jocelyn in the kitchen, washing dishes. The room smelt good, as though Jocelyn had something cooking in the slow cooker, and Clary felt her stomach rumble. She hadn't eaten since lunch, and she hadn't even realized until now, given how busy her day had been. "What's up, babe? What are you doing here?"

"I just went to see Luke," Clary said bluntly, leaning against the bench and crossing her arms over her chest. "I've got this." She held up the cardigan and Jocelyn pursed her lips before pointedly turning back to the sink full of soapy water, not saying anything. "Are you and dad going to break up?" Jocelyn let out a short laugh. "I'm being serious."

"Yeah, well, it's not really a simple answer, is it?" Jocelyn muttered.

"Do you _want_ to leave dad?" She countered. Jocelyn's vigorous scrubbing paused for a moment and then the older woman sighed, turning to look back at Clary.

"Yes," she answered. Clary hadn't been expecting such a straight, honest answer and she blinked at her mother.

"Do you love Luke?" Clary continued, after a moment of processing it was that her mother had said.

"Yes."

"Do you still love dad?"

"It's different, baby," Jocelyn took in a deep breath and reached over to pick up a tee-towel and dry off her hands. "Why all the questions?"

"Thought it was probably something that we should talk about, after all this time," Clary shrugged. Jocelyn raised an eyebrow, knowing that there was something more to it. "Isabelle and Simon are thinking about leaving—about leaving the club. And I think she's trying to talk Alec into it as well," she exhaled heavily. Jocelyn nodded slowly, looking sad yet not surprised. "Did you know?"

"I had a feeling," Jocelyn admitted. "Isabelle has talked to Maryse about it, and Maryse has talked to me. I don't think anything has been said to Robert yet, though."

"Do you know why?" Clary asked tentatively, not wanting to throw any shade on any of friends unnecessarily.

"I would assume it has something to do with Alec being gay," Jocelyn watched her reaction carefully and Clary's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh come on, baby. I'm Maryse's best friend and I've looked after Alec since he was a toddler. I know when a kid is gay. Isabelle doesn't like the fact that her brother isn't accepted for who he really is," She breathed out through her nose and crossed her own arms, mimicking Clary's position. "And I think that as long as Valentine is in charge, Alec would be better off with another club, one that is more accepting. And Isabelle would be happier if her and Simon are with that club as well."

"As long as Valentine is in charge?"

"Well..." Jocelyn dragged out the word. "Well, Luke would have things a little different if he was in charge." Clary stared at her mother for a few minutes, trying to work herself up to the reason behind her visit, and then deciding it was better off to just get it over with. It wasn't going to get any easier the longer she tried to put it off.

"I'm seeing someone!" She blurted out. Jocelyn narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't look all too surprised at the statement.

Her mother seemed to be full of knowledge that she didn't let on she knew of.

"Who?" She asked.

Ah, Clary thought. Maybe she didn't know _everything_.

Although there was a good chance that if Jocelyn knew who she was seeing she would be grounded and locked in the basement.

Especially if Jocelyn told Valentine.

God.

That was actually a scary thought.

It would be a blood bath.

"Who?" Jocelyn repeated, her voice a little sharper this time.

"Jace Herondale," Clary said, not feeling anywhere near as confident as she had felt before.

"Jace Herondale... _Herondale_ —as in Stephen _Herondale_?" Jocelyn looked shocked. Well, at least she hadn't figured that all out. "Shit, Clarissa! How long has this been going on?!" Clary couldn't remember the last time her mother had used her full name and she cringed at it. "Do you have any idea of what's going to happen when your father finds out—when _Stephen_ finds out?! He's the president of the Devils Hand—"

"I know who he is, mum," Clary said shortly. "And he already knows."

"He—what?" Jocelyn looked dumb-founded. "He knows."

"In all fairness, he only just found out," her daughter mumbled. "I think that—"

"Clary!" Jocelyn held up a hand to stop her from talking. Clary snapped her jaw, pressing her lips together as Jocelyn stared at her, processing what she had just been told. It was a good few long minutes before Jocelyn spoke again. "You need to stop this, you need to break it off with him. Valentine isn't himself lately—I don't know what he would do if he found out that you had been fooling around with a rival club member."

"I'm not just 'fooling around' with him, mum," Clary tensed her shoulders. "I love him." Jocelyn's eyes seemed to get even impossibly wider.

"What the fuck are you on about? Love him?! How long have you been seeing him?!"

"I, well..." Clary figured she might as well just spill it all. "I mean, this time it's only been a few months—"

" _This_ time—wait," Jocelyn frowned. "Wait. Back when you were in school..." her eyebrows were pulled together as she thought back several years. "You were lying your ass off to us about where you were and who you were with." Clary's cheeks reddened slightly and Jocelyn let out a growl, shaking her head. "It was him, wasn't it?" Clary nodded. Jocelyn looked as though she didn't know whether to scream or just plain smash a plate on the ground. In the end, she decided to let out a laugh of disbelief. "Does your brother know? Did he know?" Clary nodded again. "Of course. You've never been able to keep anything from him. How'd you manage to keep him quiet?"

"He only found out after we broke up, and Jace left," Clary mumbled. "And he said that, running on a technicality, it's not as though I'm a brother in the club. So it's not as though I was directly betraying it."

"That's a pretty big lean on the technicality," Jocelyn huffed.

"I know."

"Right. Okay. So my daughter. In love with Jace. Son of the president of the Devils Hand," Jocelyn's sentences were coming out short and choppy. "And what exactly do you think that you're going to do about this?"

"I'm leaving with him." The words were coming out of her mouth before she even properly thought them through. Before saying them, she hadn't even made up her mind. But once she had said it, she knew that was what she was going to do. "I'm leaving with him, and we're joining another club—they're neutral, no alliances with with Silver Demons or Devils Hand. Jace was part of their club for the past few years, and he says that we'll be welcomed." Jocelyn stared at her in disbelief.

"You're just going to leave?" She asked, her voice raising in pitch.

"...Yes," Clary murmured quietly. Jocelyn took in a deep breath, opening her mouth as though she was about to say something but then closing it. She stepped forward, reaching out to put her hand on Clary's arm and Clary was surprised by the tenderness in her mothers face.

"Is he a good man, Clary?" She asked. Clary swallowed hard. "And you know what I mean. Does he treat you well?"

"He's never lifted a finger against me," she said. "And he never hurt me."

"I'm assuming that the break up happened just after graduation, when you were drunk and smoking every day," Jocelyn said perceptively. "I definitely view that as hurting my daughter."

"The break up was mutual," Clary told her. "Doesn't mean it wasn't hard." Jocelyn didn't look convinced, and Clary didn't blame her—not in the life that they were in. But she believed in Jace, and she needed her mother to see that. "His father has always been loyal to Celine, his mother, and that's the example he views as right. Not only being loyal when in the same zip code, and then dropping his pants whenever he was out on a run." Jocelyn took in a deep breath and then gave her a small, tight smile.

"Okay," she said. Clary blinked.

"Okay?"

"Okay," Jocelyn confirmed. "You're an adult, and I can't keep you here. If you're going to be happy, and he treats you right, then go. Baby, you deserve it. Things are turning to shit here, and if you can get away from it, and be with a club like ours used to be. Who treats you like family." Clary felt tears rushing behind her eyes, and she leapt forward, throwing her arms around her mothers shoulders. Jocelyn was caught off guard and had to take half a step back, but then she was wrapping her arms around Clary and hugging her right back. "Oh, my baby," Jocelyn pressed a few kisses against the side of her head. "I'm so sorry you've had to hide this."

"I'm sorry I lied to you—before, and now," Clary murmured back.

"No, no," Jocelyn shook her head. "It's okay." She pulled away and braced her hands on her daughters shoulders. "When are you leaving?"

"I...I don't know," Clary admitted. "I only just decided that I'm definitely going. Jace has been talking about it for a while, but I didn't want to leave my family behind." Jocelyn cupped her face and brushed her thumbs over her daughters cheeks.

"Go, baby," she told her intently. "You go." Clary swallowed hard and jerked her head in one nod. "But you have to promise me that you're going to call me every day. And they had better treat you properly or so help me god, I will drive to wherever it is you're going and I will scratch their eyes out with my nails." Clary's lips twitched upwards in a smile.

"Okay," she murmured. She turned on her heel, heading back out of the house and toward her car. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Jace as she got into the drivers seat, sliding her keys into the ignition.

"Clary? Are you alright? Is everything okay?" Jace asked her worriedly, picking up on the second ring.

"I want to go," she told him. "I want to leave with you."

 _I'm currently on another_ Veronica Mars _binge. I think I must go on one of these at least twice a year—re-watch all the seasons over again and the movie. Veronica is a total BAMF, Logan and Weevil are amazing, and Mac and Wallace are fucking awesome as well. It's soooooo fucking good!_

 _My song recommendations this time are_ Waves _by Kris Allen,_ Heathens _by Twenty One Pilots and_ Waiting Game _and_ Beggin' For Thread _by Banks. Banks is seriously amazing, a complete an utter babe and her songs are sensual as fuck._

 _Anyway! Let me know what you guys think about Veronica Mars and also any new song recommendations! And this time around I've got previews set up for the next chapter for anyone who leaves a logged in review :) xxx_


	22. Chapter 22

_Sorry, this is a little bit of a shorter chapter. We've only got a couple of chapters left for this story!_

Clary could barely contain her excitement as she pumped her car full of gas. She was about to make her third trip out to Jace's in the matter of twenty-four hours, so she decided she probably needed a refill. When she had told Jace that she was going to come with him—that she was certain that she wanted to leave—he told her that he needed to see her right away. She could hear his own voice trembling as he said he would drive to see her if that's what she wanted but he just needed to see her. She had let out a surprised laugh and told him that she would be there soon, she just needed to go home and change her clothes and then stop to fill up her car.

Her whole body was thrumming with energy, which it really shouldn't be, given she had only got a few hours sleep last night and today had been pretty damn draining, given the emotional events that had happened. But clearly her mind and body had other ideas rather than being tired, because when she had been pulled on leggings and a button down shirt, she had barely been able to control her shaking hands. Even now, she was still buzzing and she could barely keep her fingers steady around the gas pump.

She went inside and paid and then practically skipped back out to her car.

Clary turned on her car and steered her way out of the service station, almost driving directly into oncoming traffic given how little attention she was paying to her driving. She shook her head, narrowing her eyes as she tried to re-focus her attention. A few minutes later, she was on the main road, heading directly for Jace's. She turned her radio all the way up, her windows down to fill the car with fresh night air, singing at the top of her lungs to _The Nights_ by Avicii. Her fingers were drumming away to the beat on the steering wheel, and she was so absorbed in the song and in her head and in everything else that was going on, she almost missed the turn off to Jace's house. She slammed on the breaks and quickly jerked her car down the side road and then into his driveway. There was a light on inside, but it looked as though there was only one, maybe from the hallway. She parked up her car and barely remembered to lock the door before she was tripping up the stairs in her rush to get inside.

She came to abrupt halt when she saw Jace standing in the doorway of the hallway, looking mussed up and grinning and shirtless and completely adorable. The light from behind him was shining off his tanned muscular body and through the golden strands of his hair and all she wanted to do was be wrapped up in his body.

"You're sure? You're not fucking with me?" He asked her, pulling his lower lip into her mouth.

"I'm sure," she nodded her head, her smile almost breaking her face in half. "I'm not fucking with you." Jace's long legs carried him across the room in a second and he was grabbing her face and slamming her back against the closed front door. His mouth covered hers and Clary returned his hunger with just as much of her own, digging her fingers into his shoulders and hitching one leg up and over his hip. Jace slid his hand down the side of her body, slipping around to grasp one of her ass cheeks and squeezing hard, holding her firmly against him. "I'm coming with you...I'm going to—"

"Fuck, I am _never_ leaving you again," Jace growled out as his mouth moved away from hers, breathing hotly against the curve of her neck as he nipped at her smooth skin. He bit down at the flesh of her shoulder that was exposed slightly from the open neck of her shirt and Clary let out a guttural moan, twisting her fingers into his hair and pulling at them hard. Jace let out another growl, his lips finding hers again. Jace dug his fingers into her ass, almost painfully, but it just sent another rush of wet heat straight toward her center. She tried to roll her hips forward, needing any kind of friction against the apex of her legs, feeling Jace's arousal _r_ _ight there_ but separated by their clothes. He thrust himself against her and then moved his hands, pulling down her leggings and underwear, and then managed to pull down his own sweatpants.

"I love you," Clary sighed out. Jace paused, his hands on her hips, their naked lower halves pressing together.

"Fuck, girl," Jace murmured, he leaned down to kiss her hard, drawing her lower lip into his mouth and sucking on it, invading her mouth. "I'm never going to get tired of hearing you say that." She smiled against his lips, bracing herself as he easily hoisted her up against the door and then slid into her in one slick movement. Her jaw slackened as he filled her up, and she let out a whine from the back of her throat.

"I love you," she managed to gasp out again.

"Fuck," Jace slammed into her, harder this time. He was hitting every single right spot inside of her, and her toes were curling violently as her shoulder blades jolted against the door.

"I love you," she repeated, gripping his shoulders and staring down at him, her hair a mess around her face. He stared at her, his eyes never leaving hers as he pulled her down again, snapping his hips up against her so that they met in the middle.

"Say it again," he ordered her roughly, his thrusts becoming quicker and quicker, his breathing erratic.

"I love you," Clary cried as she felt herself come undone around him, dark spots blotting her vision as she heard Jace snarl out her name before he was exploding, hot and thick inside of her.

* * *

"What was it that changed your mind?" Jace asked quietly, looking over at Clary. He had carried her down to his bedroom after they had finished and they had crawled between the sheets. He had turned off the light in the hallway, but one of the curtains was still open so there was a puddle of blue-grey moonlight splayed out on the bed.

"I wanted to stay because this is my family," she sighed, rolling over and slinging one of her legs over his waist and tucking her chin into his shoulder. "But...It's not my family anymore." She glanced up at him hesitantly and Jace shrugged and let out a half laugh.

"I guess we can be pretty open about things now, right? I mean...We're both leaving, and joining the same club," he reasoned.

"I guess you're right," Clary agreed after a moment. "Well...First there's Alec."

"Lightwood? Isabelle's brother?"

"Yeah," she nodded. She pursed her lips together before taking in a breath through her nose and continuing. "He's gay." Jace's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he twisted his neck so that he could look down at her. Clary. "Yeah, he's gay. Isabelle, me and I think his parents are the only one's who know—I don't even think Max, his little brother, knows."

"So Valentine is one of those old fashioned ones then? Is against homosexuals?"

"Does that really surprise you?" Clary muttered. "He's pretty set in his ways."

"And so that's the real reason behind Isabelle wanting to leave?"

"Yup," she nodded again. "And when she finds out what happened with Max and Simon, if she hasn't already, then she'll be gone a lot quicker."

"Are you going to tell her?" Jace asked, lifting a hand to stroke it through her hair.

"That I'm leaving with you?" Clary tilted her head upwards, one of her hands lifting to trace the muscles of his washboard abdominals. "Of course I am. She's my best friend." Jace fell quiet and Clary frowned at him, lifting herself up on her elbows so that she could look down at him. "Why?"

"Well I was sort of thinking we could leave soon," he said hesitantly.

"How soon is soon?"

"Uh," he winced and laced one of his hands with hers, twining their fingers together. "I gave Charlotte and Henry a call right after you rang me. Henry Branwell is the Prez of the club that I was with for the past four years—"

"The _Stinging Venoms_?" Jace arched an eyebrow. "What? You think I didn't keep any eye on you?" Jace grinned at her before continuing.

"I rang them, and I told them that we both wanted to come back," he whispered. "And they want us to come. They want us to join them. They know that we're with both different clubs, they know what it could mean, but they want us to come anyway."

"Because you became their family," Clary muttered, her heart thumping her chest.

" _We're_ going to become a part of their family," Jace told her. "You and me." Clary took in a deep shaky breath. "And they're far enough away that as long as the _Demons_ and the _Devils_ don't bother them, the lines will never cross over." She chewed down on her lower lip at the thought; one of the things that was holding her back. Jace could see the hesitation and worry in her face and he kissed her on the side of the head. "I was thinking that maybe...Maybe we would leave tomorrow."

"Shit—what?! Tomorrow?" Clary cried, pulling away from him. "That's a bit—a bit abrupt, isn't it?!"

"The sooner the better, right?" He asked hopefully. Clary pursed her lips as she stared down at him, and then a grin to match his spread across her face.

 _So? You guys like it? Let me know, a couple of words make all the difference to someone who's been slaving over a keyboard *puppy dog eyes*._

 _I'll send out a preview to anyone logged in who leaves a review!_

 _OMG—I went and saw Ellie Goulding in concert last weekend. It's the second time I've seen her live, and she was still just as amazing! My recommended song this week is_ Silhouette _by Aquilo. It's absolutely gorgeous. And then this weekend I'm going to see_ Deepwater Horizon _! It's had great reviews, so I'm pretty excited, plus I get to see Dylan O'Brien on the big screen, which is always a massive plus. I'll undoubtedly be doing a happy dance on my way to the cinema. Haha._

 _Also, in my profile I've put up a list of the new stories that I'm working on and a brief description about them. Check it out and let me know what you guys think :) Always happy to discuss them :) xx_


	23. Chapter 23

_Here's the update! A lot of you guys are upset about it being almost finished, and I totally agree! Enjoy it while we can..._

"Three hours," Jace whispered, running his fingers through Clary's hair. This was a very different farewell from yesterday. They were both fully dressed, and they had been awake since four that morning, making arrangements. Jace's hands framed her face as he brought her in close for a kiss. "Three hours and then we're gone."

"I honestly don't know if I'm going to be able to pack up all of my shit in a few hours!" Clary cried, meaning it as a joke but her heart beating faster in her chest. "This is..." she took in a breath through her nose. "This is all happening really fast." Jace ran his finger down the side of her face before coming down to her chin, his thumb touching her lower lip.

"Just grab what you need, babe," he told her gently. "Clothes and stuff. It's not like we're disappearing forever or anything, once the dust settles, we can come and get it. Or you can have your mum ship it up." Clary pursed her lips together and Jace ran his thumb over the outline of her mouth, the motion soothing. "And I've already got all my things up there from the past few years; I had my own place and all the furniture is still there."

"Being an outlaw sure pays well, doesn't it?" Clary raised an eyebrow at him and Jace smirked at her, leaning down to place a kiss on her nose.

"Just the essentials," he reminded her. "And if you're not back here in three hours, then I'm coming in after you."

"Yeah, yeah," Clary rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I can pack up a bag and get my ass back here."

"Alright," Jace pulled away from her and reached over to pull open the door. "I'll see you soon."

"I will," Clary gave him a smile as she turned on her heel and walked out the door, skipping down the steps. It honestly felt as though her heart was thumping so hard it was going to come out her chest. She couldn't believe what had happened in just a few short hours, and the decision that they had come to, to leave their lives behind here and start a new. But there was just one line that kept repeating itself in her head;

 _He loves me._

It's not like she was going to be able to stay here forever, under the pretense that things were fine. Her family just wasn't her family anymore, and it wasn't as though she could ignore these feelings that she had for Jace. Jocelyn had loved Valentine, and that was why she had become part of the club life, leaving behind the ordinary, mundane life with her parents who were an accountant and a nurse. She had always told Clary that she didn't regret it, even when things had taken a turn for the worst, she said that she never regretted following her heart.

And that's what Clary was doing.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Isabelle asked when Clary walked in the front door of their home. "You haven't been home for two nights." Clary cringed and Isabelle raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Right, well," she licked her lips. "I kind of...Sort of have something to tell you." Isabelle blinked at her in horror as she started telling her about the past few weeks. She told her everything, about Jace and about the club, and about what had happened to Max and Simon. Apparently Simon had managed to pull the wool over Isabelle's eyes—which was no easy feat—regarding the bruises and scrapes that he had received due to the fight with the _Mongrels_. He had said that he and Max had been out drinking and had just gotten into a fight. Isabelle snorted in anger, saying that she knew she should have pushed him harder about it—Simon really wasn't the type to go and start a fight. She finished by telling Isabelle to leave, to leave with Simon and to take Alec, so that him and Magnus could be together without acting as though they had something to hide.

And also by saying that she was leaving. _Today_.

Isabelle was staring at her in silence for a long few minutes after she had finished. Clary looked nervously from side to side. Usually she found it easy to read her best friend, but with everything she had just spilt, she honestly wasn't sure.

"I love you, babe," Isabelle finally murmured. "I love you to the moon and back. And I'm with you to the end, remember?" Clary raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Me and you, we're family, right? I would bleed for you, I would fucking kill for you, just like any of the brothers in the club."

"What are you..."

"Let me talk to Simon," Isabelle said. "Let me talk to Simon and...We'll come with you."

"Wait, no, Izzy...That's not what I'm trying to make you do here," Clary frowned. "I don't want you to feel as though you have to leave, just because of me. I'm only saying that you should leave if it's the best thing for you, and Simon. "

"Babe, you know I wouldn't just leave if it was you. We can still be friends, even in different clubs," Isabelle said. "But as long as Valentine is the president, he's just going to get worse and more greedy and I can't let my brothers and my man get in the middle of that. I'm not going to let him do that to my life and the people who are important to me." She grabbed Clary's hand and squeezed it. "You already know that we were thinking about leaving. Well wouldn't it be better to leave to be part of a club where part of my family is? With you?" Clary felt her eyes clouding with tears and she reached out to wrap her arms around her best friends neck, pulling her in tight against her petite body.

"I love you, girl," Clary murmured against her thick hair.

"I love you more, Clary," Isabelle replied, squeezing her back. "Now, you better get your shit packed. We don't want your man thinking that you've run out on him."

"As if he would let me," Clary snorted. But Izzy was right, she only had just under two hours to go, and she hadn't even started packing yet. Plus, she needed to go by and see her mum, let her know the developments, and that would take some time. Today was a Thursday, so she would be expected in at work, but sometimes she didn't go in, that was one of the perks of being the bosses daughter. Thursday also meant that Valentine wasn't going to be home, because he should be at the club house or at one of the _Ride_ garages.

Isabelle helped her to pack, dumping as much of her clothes into suitcases as they could. They ran out of room in the cases quickly, and so then they just started piling stuff into the back of the car, Jace's warning of 'just the essentials' going right out the window.

"This is really happening, huh?" Isabelle took in a deep breath as she looked at the car.

"Really happening," Clary nodded her head. "I just need to tell mum I'm going."

"You sure you're not going to tell Valentine?" Isabelle asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Clary made a face. "I mean...I know I'm his baby girl and all that shit, but things are shit at the moment." She licked her tongue over her lower lip. "I think that it might be best if I put some space in between us before I spill it to dad that I'm running off with the boy from the rival club." Isabelle nodded in agreement. "I'll text you as soon as I get there, yeah?"

"You fucking better," Isabelle gave her a sad smile. "And I'm going over to talk to Simon, and I'll let you know how it goes."

"Just be careful, okay, girl?" Clary said. "It's not so easy just to change brothers, especially when it's not even another charter, when it's a whole new club." Isabelle nodded and took in a deep breath through her nose.

"I know, I know, but...I mean, we've already talked about it," she murmured. "At least me and Simon have. But I know that Alec loves Magnus, and even though he's loyal to Valentine to a fault, I know that he wants to be with a brotherhood who would accept him. Who treats him like a proper family. Things have just changed too much here now, and especially since he's admitted to himself that he's gay." Clary gave her a small smile.

"Sounds like a plan," she murmured. "I'll call you once I'm there, okay?" Isabelle smiled back as Clary got into her car. She turned it on and reversed down the drive, taking in a deep breath as she waved at her best friend and then accelerated away from the house that had been her home for the past few years. She felt a shudder run through her and tears rush to her eyes as she navigated toward her parents house. For the first time since her and Jace had decided that they would leave today, she felt sad about what she was leaving behind.

While she knew that she would never be able to leave the life of the MC behind, it was ingrained deep into her bones, there had always been that chance that she would leave to join another club, rather than the one she had grown up in. That chance had become a little more when her and Jace had first started seeing each other, but if she left with Jace, it wouldn't just be leaving to join another club. It was leaving her club for a man who was part of a rival club.

Nothing was going to stop her from doing this now, but it did make her wonder just how bad the outcome could be.

Clary quickly sent off a text to Jace, telling him that she had finished packing and was just heading back to her parents to say goodbye to her mother. He replied, saying that he had a bag ready, and he would get everything else later. That was probably a good thing, because there wasn't much else that was going to be able to fit in her car. He would also have a rucksack strapped to the back of his bike, which he would drive in front of her car.

She pulled up outside her parents house and let out a sigh of relief when she saw her mothers car in the driveway but no bike there.

That would be better.

Everything would go a whole lot smoother if her father wasn't there when she left, and she trusted that her mother hadn't said anything to him when she had gone back to Jace's last night. Clary got out of the car, taking in a deep breath and clenching her fingers tightly around her phone and her keys as she walked toward the front door. But as soon as she opened it, she could feel that something was off in the house. There was a weird quiet that weighed heavily on the hallway and Clary stepped quietly, her eyebrows pulled together worriedly. She entered the dining room, her eyes flitting around and then landing on the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen.

"Oh, fuck!" Clary gasped as she saw Jocelyn on the ground. She rushed to her side, dropping down to her knees and dialing Jace. Jocelyn's lip was split, her nose was broken and there was blood crusting underneath it. "Shit—Jace! Jace, it's my mum! She's been beaten up, on the ground—all knocked up—"

"I'm going to be there in thirty minutes, okay, babe?" Jace's voice was calm but he was already running from his house and toward his bike. Clary swallowed hard, trying to keep her cool as she ended the call with Jace and then dialed Luke.

"Luke?" Clary stated as the phone picked up. "It's mum. She's—"

"Who you got on the phone there, sweet girl?" Came the drunken slur of Valentine behind her, and Clary felt her stomach twist and roll over uncomfortably as she put the phone down on the ground, careful not to end the call, as she got up and turned around slowly, meeting her fathers bloodshot eyes.

 _I wanted to say a big thank you to all you beautiful reviewers. Seriously. I love writing, and the support I get from you guys encourages that love. You're the reason I write so much and so often, and am willing to try new ideas and things like that, so a massive thank you to all you guys :)_

 _Also, I wanted to say that I've loved the support your guys have had toward my new stories. If you haven't already had a look at the short synopsis, they are up on my profile. Your feedback in reviews and in the private messages have been awesome, it's great to talk about them with you guys! If you guys have any requests or anything specific you guys want to see, let me know, and I'll see if it's something that I can work in._

 _Now! Guess what? I've been married two years. What. The Fuck? I feel way to young for that. LOL. But yeah, it's our anniversary next week. So that's pretty awesome :)_

 _Other awesome things are; the TV show_ Designated Survivor _. I've been in love with Keifer Sutherland since_ 24 _, and Maggie Q is in it, and she's fucking badass, although maybe not quite as badass as in_ Nikita _. The song_ I Hate You, I Love You _by Gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien. OMG. I'm addicted. And I've been blasting the cover of_ Lean On _by Openside every time I'm in my car. I heard it live and had to download it as soon as I got home. It is FUCKING AMAZING, as you would know if we're friends on snapchat because I've sent out several of me singing along. Hahahaha._

 _As usual, leave a review, let me know what you think, recommend songs or TV shows or other fics for me to check out. A couple of nice words will go a long way with the shitty week I've had :( I'll send out a preview of the next chapter for anyone logged in :) xx_


	24. Chapter 24

_We don't have to many chapters of this left! Hope you guys are all excited :)_

"So?" Valentine took a few steps closer to her, tilting his head to the side and swiping his hand over his face. Clary licked her tongue over her lower lip as she looked at him, narrowing her eyes as she looked him over. His face was pale and unshaven, and his eyes were darting side to side, sniffing every couple of seconds. He was drunk and he was high on something, and that wasn't a good sign. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Luke," Clary replied evenly as she met her fathers gaze. It probably wasn't the smartest thing that she could do in this situation, she should know that as someone who had grown up around people who got drunk on a regular basis, and meeting them in the eyes could be perceived as a threat. As though you were challenging them.

Clary was a slow learner though.

And based on her past decisions and actions, she didn't always take the smart way out.

"Luke, aye?" Valentine pursed his lips and nodded his head a couple of times. He looked to the side before turning back to Clary. He was acting as though Jocelyn wasn't sprawled out on the ground behind his daughter. "Why are you calling Luke?" He raised an eyebrow at her and Clary swallowed hard, pressing her lips together and jutting her chin forward.

"Because you've beaten her up...Again," Clary stated, keeping her voice flat. "And I can't carry her out to the car to take her to hospital myself."

"Hm," Valentine gave her a look before turning on his heel and walking over to the alcohol cabinet behind the dinner table. Clary glanced down at her phone and noted that the line was still open to Luke, and then she looked back at Valentine. He was pouring a drink, a few fingers into a tumbler of scotch, and then threw it all back in one mouthful. "We had a fight."

"She's tiny compared to you," Clary narrowed her eyes at him. "You can't just hit her when she argues with you! That's not how it works!"

"Don't raise your voice at me," Valentine's voice was sharp and he shot her a warning look and Clary swallowed back the rest of what she wanted to shout at him. He had never lifted a hand against her. When they were younger, he had smacked Jonathon around a little, but only when things got really bad. Like when Jonathon crashed his brand new Ducati. Or when he had gotten a girl pregnant when he was sixteen. But he had never even looked at Clary harshly because she was his little girl, and she could do wrong.

Until now.

"She told me about Jace Wayland," Valentine said coldly, anger suddenly ripping through him and smashing the tumbler down on the ground before spinning back around to look at Clary. She felt her whole body jolt, feeling ice run through her veins, but she stood her ground, her eyes narrowing and her gaze turning to a glare. "I never expected that of you, Clarissa," he hissed at her. "But then, you are your mothers daughter. Following in her whore footsteps."

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter that way," Jocelyn grumbled from the ground and both looked down at her. Clary rushed over and dropped to her knees to try and steady her mother, who was coming around to consciousness. Jocelyn's eyes were hazy and she blinked over and over again as she tried to clear them. There was blood coming from the wound on the side of her head, dripping down into her eyebrow. There was a gash, disappearing into her hair, and now that she was lifting her head, Clary could see that the side of Jocelyn's was caked with blood.

"Shit, mum," Clary let out a harsh breath, her heart beating faster in her chest. "We need to get this checked out. You could have a concussion."

"I'm okay, baby," Jocelyn mumbled as she tried to push her hair away from her face and focus her angry eyes on her husband. She stumbled when she tried to get up, and had to grip Clary's shoulder for support. She stepped back on Clary's phone with the heel of her shoe, causing the screen to crack and Clary winced. Jocelyn attempted to lift her foot quickly, but the shift in weight threw her off balance and she had to lean heavily on Clary. Clary sucked in a sharp breath and looked down at her phone, which was well and truely broken, the screen black. She hoped that Luke had actually picked up the phone and heard what was going on and that the call hadn't just got to voice mail.

Jace was almost half an hour away, and he wouldn't be able to take on Valentine by himself. As much faith as she had in him, Valentine was taller, he was nastier, and even though he might not be quicker—Valentine was drunk—that was only going to keep ahead for a short while.

Clary was beginning to panic.

"You know," Valentine tilted his head to the side as he leaned back against the wall beside the liquor cabinet. He didn't look harried or rushed, and that made Clary even more nervous. He always got this calm look about him before he blew his top. "Your mother rang me last night and asked me to come home sober last night, because there was something important she wanted to talk to me about." Clary looked at her mother sideways, swallowing hard and pursing her dry lips together, hoping that this conversation wasn't going in the direction that she thought it was. "I didn't get the call until this morning, she left a message for me. And, the love of my life was asking for me to come home—" there was a sneer on his lips now. "—So I got one of the boys to drop me off, because I wanted to get back to her." He tilted his head to the side and looked between the two of them, eyes flint-like.

"Dad," Clary almost choked on her words.

"Don't interrupt," Valentine shot her a sharp look and Jocelyn squeezed her daughters arm tightly, indicating that she keep quiet. They would be better off not angering him further until at least Jace showed up. Hopefully Luke as well. "So I get home, and Jocelyn is waiting in the lounge for me," Valentine continued. "And she had some very interesting news to tell me." Clary glanced over at her mother. He tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. "She told that you were leaving. With a boy." The blood was draining quickly from Clary's cheeks and Jocelyn's fingers biting into her arm was the only thing that was keeping her still—that, and the fact that she knew if she moved an inch, her mother would tumble to the ground without her support. "And this boy...Do you know who she told me it was?"

"Jace Wayland," Clary didn't hesitate a second before declaring his name. Valentine seemed surprised, but then she let out a rough laugh, which just angered him further.

"I guess we're past lying then, aren't we?" He spat out. "Here I was, always thinking that you were my good girl. But you were just smiling and lying right to my face, and then running off and betraying my trust and your family behind our backs!" His voice was rising now and Clary's body was beginning to jerk with every word he shouted out at her. "Why, Clarissa?! Why would you betray us?!"

"You're never going to listen to me when you're like this, dad!" Clary shouted back at him. "You're drunk and you're pissed off and this really _isn't a priority right now_! We have to get mum to the hospital!"

"And so know we're just looking for excuses? Trying to get out of explaining why you've been whoring yourself off to the enemy for—for how long now? It must be a while if you've decided he's worth running away from everything you've ever known for," Valentine growled out at her.

"I'm not running away," Clary snapped at him, drawing herself to her full height, which was only a few inches taller than how she was slumped, but she felt more confident when she did so. "I'm choosing to leave. To find something that feels more like family than this place has in months."

"Don't you dare talk negatively about the people who raised you, Clarissa," Valentine advanced on her, but both red-headed woman stood their ground. "We gave you everything you ever needed." Clary swallowed hard and let out a long breath, closing her eyes for a moment before reaching out to touch her fathers arm, despite Jocelyn's tugging on her arm.

"Dad," she began, her voice a lot more gentle than the situation really required. "I know you love me. But things aren't good here." She took in another shaky breath and looked at her mother. "Things are really bad." Valentine stared at her unflinchingly, not backing down and Clary realized that there was no way that she was going to be able to get through to him. His eyes were black and hard, and his body stature was clearly on the defensive. Plus the alcohol on his breath, tainting his thoughts, it wasn't going to make him more pliable to any sort of criticism that she was dishing out.

"Baby," Jocelyn murmured. "Now is not the time."

"You're right," Clary agreed with a nod. "We need to get you to hospital."

"She'll be fine," Valentine snapped.

"How can you say that?!" Clary cried out in exasperation. "This isn't like when you give her a black eye. You fucking knocked her unconscious—"

"Don't you talk to me that way!" Valentine lunged forward and grabbed her arm, his hand wrapping around her wrist and jerking it forward. Clary bit back the hurt gasp that tried to make it's way out of her throat, and met his gaze. "You're my daughter and I love you, but you need to learn your place—"

"Or what?! You going to _beat_ me until I do?! You going to treat me like you do to mum?! That's not love, dad! That's control! You can't treat us like—"

"I think this has gone far enough," came a firm voice from the doorway. All three eyes swung to the doorway where Luke was standing. He was a big man, a few inches taller than Valentine, and looking a lot more in control of himself that Valentine did right now. Luke took in a deep breath, looking between all three of them, trying to keep him expression neutral, but Clary saw the way his hands were clenched into fists at his side, and the way his nostrils flared as his eyes landed on Jocelyn and took in her condition.

"What are you doing here, Luke?" Valentine's words were short. "I'm afraid you can't sleep with my wife right now, because I'm here." Luke's jaw tensed but he didn't reply. "This is a family matter, brother. And by family, I mean my wife and my daughter. Not you. So I'm asking you to leave."

"I'm sorry, Prez," Luke took a step into the room, one of his hands un-clenching and drifting toward his belt where Clary knew he kept his gun. "I can't do that."

 _My song recommendations for this time!_ Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic _the cover by Sleeping At Last,_ I Can't Even _by The Neighbourhood and_ In My Blood _by The Veronicas, which was recommended to me by Caaatttt. Ooh, also a couple of TV shows that I've started watching are_ Lucifer _and_ Blindspot _, which are both pretty good. And I finally got around to watching Straight Outta Compton! So glad I finally watched it. Hahaha._

 _Also, I've updated my profile again, since you guys seemed to like when I modified it last time. So check it out :)_

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think of the chapter, recommend any new songs to me, and let me know if you'd like a preview of the next chapter :)_

 _As a complete side note...No matter who you voted for, there were going to be a lot of unhappy people, and I can see that there have already been protests through the night. Love is going out to everyone, as this is something that will affect us all xx_


	25. Chapter 25

_This is the second to last update before I go on a short break over Christmas/New Years! Hope you enjoy it :)_

"Luke," Valentine glared at him. "I'm telling you, as your President, that you. Are. Going. _To leave,_ " The tense silence just stretched even more so as Luke stood there, unmoving. Luke took in a deep breath, stepping further into the room as he stared at Valentine.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said through gritted teeth.

"Are you defying a direct order?" Valentine asked, twisting his body around so that he had his back to Clary and Jocelyn.

"I'm not leaving these woman alone with you," Luke replied, keeping his voice even, although Clary could hear the angry shake at the end of the sentence. "I'm sorry, brother. But I can't do that," he repeated his earlier sentiment.

"Dad," Clary attempted, taking in a shaky breath as she felt panic rising again in her throat. "Just let us go. Let us take mum to hospital. We can come back and talk about this as a family once everyone has calmed down—and when Jon is here."

"Why, you think that Jon is going to side with you? That he's going to side with his sister who has been busy running around, spreading her legs for the enemy? And his mother, who has been screwing our Vice President? A man who is meant to be loyal to death to me?" Valentine's spiteful words were coming out in a snarl, his upper lip curling. "I don't think so."

"It's not about sides, dad," Clary was starting to get even more anxious now. Jocelyn was still standing but she was swaying dangerously and her face was deathly pale under the red of the blood that was staining half of her face. "We can't stay here and argue! We need to get mum to hospital!" She took a step forward, aiming for Luke, but Valentine cut them off, one arm whipping out to stop them in their path. "You need to let us go! We don't know what you've done to her! She could have internal bleeding for all we know!"

"Clary is right," Luke interjected, his voice still calm, although there was a tremble which Clary knew was out of his worry for Jocelyn. "This can be dealt with later, once we've have Jocie checked out by a doctor." As soon as the word was out of his mouth, he realized his mistake, and Clary's eyebrows lifted.

 _Jocie_.

He had called her by her nickname a hundred times before, given how familiar they all were with each other. But with the way that Valentine was acting right now, the nickname really wasn't the best way to go. Valentine took in a deep, shaky breath, his lips twitching slightly into a sneer before suddenly he was lunging for Luke.

"Dad!" Clary screamed out and tried to jump forward, but Jocelyn was dead weight against her now. Valentine slammed Luke up against the wall and Luke held his hands out, palms upward, trying to show that he didn't want to fight, and saying something quietly to him, obviously trying to calm him down. But then Valentine started throwing punches and Luke had to defend himself, it wasn't built into his DNA to go down without a fight. "Shit, shit, shit," Clary cursed under her breath, looking across at her mother who was now slumped against her shoulder. "Oh, fuck," Clary muttered.

"Prez! Come on!" Luke was breathless, ducking under Valentine's arms. "We need to get her looked at!" His words were cut off as Valentine kneed him firmly in the stomach. He let out a grunt and expelled a rough breath of air before he spun away from his president and jabbed his elbow into Valentine's back, sending him sprawling into the wall. "Valentine!" He shouted, attempting to pin Valentine against the wall, almost as though he was trying to shake some sense into him.

"Mum," Clary shifted her body, lowering Jocelyn to the ground and resting her against the door frame. She dropped to her knees next to her, pushing Jocelyn's hair back and framing her bloody and clammy face. "Mum, mum...Mum," Clary felt tears rushing to her eyes again, her stomach churning in worry. "Mum, I need you to open your eyes." There wasn't much of a response, other than a groan from deep in Jocelyn's throat and her eyelids fluttered but didn't open properly. There was a crash as the two men behind her fell into the table and she shot a look over her shoulder to see them fall to the ground, fists flailing. She stretched over Jocelyn to pick up her phone and attempted to tap the screen a couple of times, hoping like hell that it might still be working.

It definitely wasn't.

"Fucking hell!" Clary hissed, whipping her head around, trying to get a glimpse of some other phone—Jocelyn's was never very far from her. "Mum, where's your phone?" She tapped her fingers against her mothers collarbone, trying to get some response. "Mum?" Jocelyn let out another low moan, her head drooping forward, chin near her chest.

From past experience in the club, with the amount of fights the boys got into, Clary knew that she needed to keep her head tilted back and her airways open. She tipped her head back and then felt both of her mothers pockets, letting out a sigh of relief when she felt a hard rectangle on the left side. She maneuvered Jocelyn's legs out so that they were flat and then wriggled the phone out of her pocket.

"Don't you dare fucking call anyone, Clarissa!" Valentine roared, and there was a thud at the back of her head, a hit that made her teeth rattle and her eyes cross. She let her body snap forward, rolling over her mothers body to get out of Valentine's reach. Valentine glared at her, but the phone was still on the other side of Jocelyn, out of her arms length, and so he obviously didn't assess her as a threat right now. But his eyes were crazed, and his hands were shaking, blood dripping from his nose and the corner of his mouth.

It was clear that Luke was going easy on Valentine, because he had the advantage, but Luke wasn't going to be able to keep this up for much longer. Luke was breathing in and out harshly, his eyes were hazy with fury, and his shoulders were bunched up tight. There was a feral hint in his eyes when he saw the hit that Valentine delivered to Clary, a girl he viewed as a surrogate daughter, and he sprung forward.

Clary waited until Luke had grabbed Valentine by the arms and dragged him away from the two woman to put a few good meters between them, and then Valentine was distracted by trying to throw himself at Luke, before lunging for the phone again. She barely knew any numbers off by heart anymore, blame it on speed dial, but there was one number that had been etched into her brain since she was two.

911.

"Ambulance, fire service or police," came a soothing voice from the other end.

"I need an ambulance straight away at 73 Webber Road," Clary rasped into the phone. "As in _right now_."

"Can you please advise me of what the injury is?" The female continued, not sounding at all ruffled by Clary's tone.

"She's hit her head really bad. She's—" Clary broke off as she looked back at her mother. "She fell over."

"Okay," the emergency responder replied. "We are dispatching units to your address. Now if you could just stay on the line—"

"Don't think so," Clary muttered, leaving the line open but tossing the phone to the side. Valentine was distracted at the moment, and she was pretty certain that Luke was winning their punch up, but in case it was Valentine who came out on top, she didn't want the phone anywhere near her.

As though that was her only concern.

If Valentine won, she wasn't certain that Luke would still be alive.

And then she wasn't sure what Valentine was going to do to her, or her mother. Because the way he was looking at her was crazed, and he was still hungover, and he wasn't thinking straight—he hadn't been thinking straight for a while now, it had just taken her a while to click on to that. Which was stupid, because usually she was smart when it came to things like that. She needed to be, as part of this life.

"Mum?" Clary whispered. "Mum, I'm going to move you, okay?" She didn't get any response, but after looking over her shoulder quickly and seeing Luke and Valentine stumbling through the glass of the double French doors, wood splintering and glass shattering. The neighbors would ring the police soon, even though they knew who they were. But there was shouting, and with the doors broken, the two would be on display for the whole street to see. It wasn't going to be long before the ambulance showed up and the police were going to be close behind them.

And then she was never going to get out of here.

Clary bit down the panic that was beginning to rush over her, and focused on dragging Jocelyn around the corner of the kitchen, so that she was sheltered by the cupboards. Clary tapped her fingers against Jocelyn's cheeks a few more times, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw Jocelyn's eyes flutter again.

"What the fuck is he doing here?!" Came a roar from the lounge, and Clary ducked her head around the door to see Luke had managed to subdue Valentine. Her father was pinned against the wall, both arms twisted behind his head, bent at the elbows. But that didn't stop her father from glaring and spitting and shouting as Jace stepped into the room, a gun at the ready at his side and his eyes narrowed. "What the fuck is he doing here?!" Valentine repeated loudly, his head jerking in anger. Luke looked between his president, and the man in the doorway wearing a the vest announcing _Devils Hand_.

Then he made his decision, slamming Valentine's head into the wall, knocking him cold unconscious. Clary let out a squeak at the movement, her body jumping.

"You're Wayland?" Luke asked as he let Valentine's body slump down to the ground. Jace nodded once, his lips pursed together. Luke looked over at Clary. "Get her the fuck out of here. Get her as far as you can from this motherfucking place as you can." Jace locked his jaw, looking down at Valentine's body before nodding again, and walking over to Clary.

"No, I can't," Clary told him, her voice breaking as she looked down at her mother. "I can't leave her like this." Luke was already rushing over to the kitchen, brushing past Clary and falling down beside Jocelyn, pulling her body toward hers. He gave her a quick once over, forcing her eyelids apart to look at her pupils.

"She's going to be fine, Clary," Luke told her in his rough voice. In the distance, there was the sound of sirens.

"No, I have to—"

"Get her out of here, Wayland!" Luke snapped. Jace leaned over and gripped her elbow, tugging her over toward him. Clary tried to pull away, looking down at her mum and then worriedly up at Luke.

"But Luke, I—"

"Clary!" Luke cut her off. She snapped her mouth shut and he gave her a stern look. "The ambulance is almost here. I've got her. You know I'm not going to leave her side until I know she's going to be okay. And even then, I'm not going to leave her alone." Clary took in a deep breath and looked down at her mother, who now had her eyes open blearily. Jocelyn gave her a half smile before taking in a painful breath. "But what she would want is for you to be safe, and I know that you will be with him," he shot a warning glare up at Jace as though to enforce his words.

"Come on, Clary," Jace said to her quietly. "We need to leave before the ambo gets here. Because once they do, there's going to be questions and it's going to be impossible to get out of here." Clary glanced between Jace, Luke, her mother and then back at Jace.

"Go," Jocelyn croaked out. Clary swallowed hard and then let Jace pull her from the room.

 _As I was going through and editing these chapters, I was watching_ Princess Bride _with my hubby. Omg. Absolutely love that movie. Don't think I'll ever get sick of it. It's just so fucking amazing! Will always be in my top five movies :) I pretty much quote every line as the movie plays. Whoops. Hahahaha. My song rec's for this time are_ On Your Side _by The Veronicas and_ Time After Time _the cover by Jessica Mauboy._

 _Leave a review, let me know what you guys think :)_

 _I'll send out a preview for everyone who's logged in xx_


	26. Chapter 26

_This is my last update of the year! I just wanted to say a massive thank you to all of your support you guys have shown me and reviews that you have left. I'll be back around February next year, but until then, I'm still able to be reached through here if you send me a PM, or if you wanted to add me on Facebook or Snapchat :) Also, make sure you check out the authors note at the bottom in regards to my upcoming stories._

Jace knew that Clary was strong, but sometimes it seemed as though he underestimated just how strong she was. When he pulled her off the ground, away from her mothers body, she had been shaking and there were tears in her eyes. Her hands were trembling and he had to half carry her out of the house. But by the time they got to her car in the driveway, she seemed to manage to draw strength from deep inside her, and she was walking on her own, albeit a little shakily. The sirens were getting closer and closer, and it wasn't going to be long before the ambulance, undoubtedly along with the police, were going to be flooding into the street, and there was no way they would be able to get away then.

Because he had had to drive his bike into her town, he needed her to drive her car back to his house. He couldn't risk leaving it there, and having it looked up by the cops when they arrived. Or, if the rest of Valentine's MC turned against Luke and saw his bike there, with an engraving of his MC on the back, they might turn against the _Devils Hand_ , and he wasn't going to let them get dragged into this unnecessarily. He couldn't put her on the back of his bike for two reasons; all of her things were in her car, and he also didn't trust that she wouldn't start shaking like a leaf again, and so the safest place for her would be inside a car.

"I need you to drive, baby," Jace told Clary firmly, putting his hands on either side of her face. Her cheeks were flushed and there were a couple of sticky tear tracks. Her hair had fallen out of the ponytail it had been in before, falling around her face, sticking to her jawline where it was damp with tears. "Clary, I need you to drive. I promise that you can panic and scream and cry all you want once we get back to my place, but right now, I need you to drive. I can't leave my bike here." Clary was just staring at him, her green eyes flickering back toward the house and her lips were parted. "Clary," Jace felt the panic beginning to rise in his stomach as the sirens got closer. "I need you to tell me that you understand." Clary swallowed hard, but after a few shaky breaths, she pulled her keys out of her back pocket.

"I understand," she managed to rasp out and Jace smiled in relief, nodding his head rapidly.

"Okay," he stated, letting out a heavy breath. "Okay, baby. Get in your car, and follow me, okay?" Clary jerked her head in a nod. Jace leaned in to kiss her hard on the mouth, hoping to reassure her. He put her behind the wheel, had to reach over her to click in her seat belt and then physically curl her fingers around the steering wheel. He whispered in her ear that he loved her, three or four times, before pleading with her to follow him. She nodded, but she still wasn't saying anything and her pupils were still blown with panic, so he wasn't too sure how much she was actually processing. He believed in her though, she narrowed her eyes and seemed to square her shoulders to resolve herself.

Jace jogged past her, toward where his bike was parked haphazardly on the lawn. When he had gotten Clary's frantic voice mail, he had got on his bike and sped toward her town without a second thought. He didn't know the township well, but in his time sneaking around with Clary when she was in school, he knew where her parents lived, and he had driven directly there. He wasn't too sure what he was expecting, but walking in on the President and Vice President, with Clary's mother crumbled and bleeding on the ground definitely hadn't been it.

The whole situation was terrible, but even from his position on the outskirts, Jace had known that things weren't good in the _Phantoms_ for a while now. Things that Clary had said, and then things that had been heard by the neighboring MC's. He hadn't realized that it was this bad though.

He hadn't been sure if he was going to be able to get Clary away from the mess, because first and foremost, he just wanted to make sure she was safe. Clearly Luke and Jocelyn were thinking the same thing, though, and they had been more than happy to push her toward him. The look in Luke's eyes as they had stumbled from the room—Jace had only met him a couple of times before, and it had never been under good circumstances—had been one of trust and almost desperation.

It was clear that Luke loved Clary, and the fact that he was letting Jace take Clary away from him in a time like this, when it would be instinct to hold her close to him and to the rest of their MC, meant a whole hell of a lot.

Clary wasn't too sure how they got back to Jace's place.

One minute, she was crouched on the ground next to her mother, her fingers tacky with blood, her father beaten to a pulp just a couple of feet away from where they were, unconscious. The next thing she knew, Luke and Jocelyn were urging her to leave and Jace was dragging her out of her childhood home. Somehow she managed to follow Jace, her windows wound all the way down so that the cold air kept rushing against her face, trying not to have a panic attack. Her mind vaguely processed the ambulance whizzing past, and then her body just slipped into auto-pilot.

It was a miracle that she didn't crash.

When they got back to Jace's place, she didn't move from her seat. Jace parked up his bike around the back of his house and then disappeared inside. He didn't make a comment as he came back outside, with a heavy bag in one hand—the rucksack that he had originally planned to take on the back of his bike—and a gun held loosely in the other. He opened the boot of her car and shoved the rucksack inside. If things had gone the way they had planned, he would have teased her about most definitely over packing, but he didn't mention it as he opened up the drivers door.

"I got this, babe," he said to her quietly, taking off her seat belt and giving her space to get out of the car. She didn't move at first, staring ahead stonily, her face pale and her lips pressed together firmly. "Babe..." he murmured, reaching out to wrap his fingers around one of her wrists. "I'll drive." Her face was drained of colour, and even though she had managed to drive here, he didn't trust that she would be able to get them up to his place, over six hours away.

"We just left her behind," Clary finally managed to say, in a voice that was barely audible, and Jace's eyebrows pulled together. "We just left her there—hurt, and alone."

"No, Clary, _not_ alone," Jace told her firmly, completely resolute as he put his fingers under her chin and turned her face toward him. "We left her with a man who loves her, and who is going to rest at nothing to make sure that she is okay. And then he trusted me to look after another woman that he loves." He gave her a small, tight smile that he hoped was comforting, even though it felt unnatural on his face. "And that's you. So I'm going to do that, okay? But I need you to let me look after you." Clary choked down a breath of air and nodded. She hesitantly pulled her hands away from the steering wheel and turned around in her seat, swinging her legs out of the car and lowering her feet to the ground. As soon as she tried to stand, though, her body lurched forward, her legs almost giving out under her weight. "Whoah, whoah," he grabbed her carefully and leaned her back against the car, his hands on her hips.

This wasn't like back at Valentine and Jocelyn's house. They had had time for her to catch her breath and let her mind process what had happened. So Jace just waited it out, his thumbs massaging her hips through her shirt.

"I feel sick," Clary admitted shakily, and Jace nodded understandingly.

"If you need to throw up, just do it," he murmured, supporting her weight as she lurched forward and rubbing his hand up and down her back gently. It sounded as though she was dry retching, and Jace cringed sympathetically. "But I don't think you will." Clary didn't say anything, just gave him a look out of the corner of her eye, but he was right.

She wouldn't let herself do that.

She was in shock right now, but she was tough.

And it wasn't in her nature to fall apart, no matter what it was that happening.

Jace helped her around to the other side of the car and opened the door, waiting for her to get into the passenger seat and buckled herself in. He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head before shutting the door and then walking back to the drivers side, getting in and turning on the engine.

"What about your bike?" Clary asked abruptly as he shifted her car into reverse.

"I'll get someone to bring it up," Jace told her soothingly. "Don't worry about it. My parents know where we're going, and they've been to my house up there before. Either my mum will bring it up on the back of one of the trucks, or they'll give the address to Jordan, and Jordan will drive it up with one of the other boys." Clary nodded silently and then settled back into her seat, her eyes staring straight ahead. "Are you ready?" Jace asked before turning the car on.

"I..." Clary trailed off, blinking rapidly a couple of times, and Jace was guessing that the rest of the adrenaline was finally leaving her body. She looked down at her hands, which still had blood on them, and she made a strangled noise in the back of the throat as she opened her glove box and pulled out a pack of wet wipes, swiping at her fingers. When they were clean, she took in another deep breath and looked over at Jace. Her eyes were glassy with tears but her mouth was set in a determined line. "I'm ready," she said firmly. "Let's go."

For a long time, maybe an hour and a half, they drove in silence.

Then Clary fell into a deep sleep.

 _Now, something that I wanted to ask everyone, is if you can all check out the upcoming stories on my profile, and let me know what your top three picks would be? Just so I have an idea of the ones that people are looking forward to and can focus on those :)_

 _The things that I'm into at the moment are Charles/Erik from_ X-Men _, the reboot trilogy, with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy. Holy shit. So beautiful. Completely obsessed. And then it's like I've become re-obsessed with Derek/Stiles from_ Teen Wolf. _The songs I've had on replay are_ Can't Fight This Feeling _by Justin Timberlake, which I know has been completely overplayed, but it's just such a happy song, I'm totally in love! And the second one is_ Last Night On Earth _by Delta Goodrem, which is just so sweet. And the last one is_ Give It Up To Me _by Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole, an old one._

 _Right! So, I'll be back next year, pretties :) Until then, one last review? Pretty please? And I'll send out a preview :)_

 _Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you all :) xxx_


	27. Chapter 27

_This is the last chapter! So sad :( :( I hope you guys enjoy the last chapter, and thank you so much for your support :)_

Their first few days at his other house were hard, Jace could see that on her face and in the way that she moved. She didn't want to leave the house, barely left the bed until he forced her to get up and go to the shower. She wasn't crying, or curled up in the fetal position, she was just laying there, either sleeping or staring blankly at the wall in front of her. It wasn't quite how Jace though their first days living together as a couple would go, but after everything that went down on their way out, he was just glad that she was safe.

Luke had called them while they had still been driving, letting Clary know that Jocelyn was going to be fine. She was going to be kept in the hospital for a few days, under observation, but she was going to be absolutely fine. But from the time that they arrived at his old home, where he had been living for the past four years, she still hadn't come out of her shell.

So he helped her to bed.

And then he made her eat, and shower.

The fourth day, Jace called his mother, not too sure what he was meant to do, and not wanting to call Luke or Jocelyn and worry them, because they were trusting him to look after Clary, and they had enough on their plates right now.

Celine had told him to talk to Charlotte, who was like a mother figure.

Charlotte had come over immediately, already very comfortable in the house that she had been looking after in Jace's absence. She had brought chicken soup over, and told Jace to make himself useful, heating it up and getting some drinks ready. Then she had told Jace to keep himself busy in the lounge, and disappeared into the bedroom where Clary was.

Jace wasn't too sure what they were talking about in there—and it must have been one hell of a conversation, because they were in there for almost an hour. He still wasn't sure to this day what they talked about, but when she came out, Clary looked a lot better. Charlotte gave them both smiles and kisses on the cheeks and then disappeared. Clary had walked over to Jace and put her arms around her waist.

"I like her," Clary stated as they moved over to sit on the couch and she curled up on his lap.

"Char's amazing," Jace agreed. "She's married to the Prez of this MC, and she's like a mum to everyone. She looked after me a lot when I first came up here." Clary nodded, pulling her lower lip into her mouth as she nuzzled her face into his neck.

"Are you okay?" He murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her in close.

"Charlotte made it feel like this could be a family," Clary's voice was muffled against her shirt, and Jace let out a sigh of relief.

"It can be," Jace confirmed, smiling softly. "I promise. This is going to be our family."

Over the next couple of weeks, things just kept looking up. Jace felt good, being back in the town that had been his home and family for the past four years. Sure, it wasn't his MC, with the boys that he had grown up with and his blood family, but they had been there for him when he had been in a bad place and he had come to rely on them. The fact that they already had close ties to the _Devils Hand_ also meant that his brothers from that MC were always welcome there, which had been helpful.

Jordan had driven up in his ute with Jace's motorcycle on the bike after their first week, which Jace would be eternally grateful for. Being separated from his bike for longer than a day had been a nightmare. One week was the longest time he had been apart from any bike he owned since he first brought one, when he was fourteen.

Jordan stayed the night, and he got on well with Clary. She was acting like her normal self again, and was cute and sassy; the complete package that Jace had fallen in love with all those years ago. When Jordan left the next day, he had told Jace he understood why he had been completely enraptured by her. She kind of reminded him of Maia; stubborn and strong.

Their second week there, Clary had a two hour phone conversation with her mother, who had been released from hospital and was practically completely recovered. Jace had given her her space, going out the back of his— _their_ —house, to work on a new motorbike that he had picked up. When she came out, she looked a little happier. Jace had needed to take a couple of seconds to regroup as she had stood next to his bike, wearing a pair of cut off shorts, bare feet and a loose singlet. The whole thing felt so domestic, it had hit Jace right in the heart, and he needed a little bit to adjust, even if it was the hundredth time.

Jocelyn had told them that Valentine had been voted out as President, with Luke being voted in. Luke had offered him a place in brotherhood, to remain with them, out of respect, but because of the damage he had already caused, the rest of the brothers weren't particularly happy with the idea. Valentine had refused. In fact, he had disappeared. Jace watched her expression carefully when she told him that, but she didn't look too worried. She told him that her father was a survivor, and wherever he was, he would be fine. He would undoubtedly be somewhere, licking his wounds, nursing his pride, but despite the way he had been acting over the past few years, his home was with a MC. Whether he came back and swallowed his pride to speak with Luke, or he joined another MC, he would always find his way back to the motorbike gang.

As the new president, Luke had instantly set about getting in contact with both Stephen, the president of _Devils Hand_ , and with Henry, the president of the _Venoms_ , and smoothing things over. There was some expected tension and they had a long way to go, but there was a tentative agreement that had been struck. Valentine hadn't built up any sort of rapport with other MC's, but due to Jace and Clary, Stephen and Henry were willing to try and make it work.

Their third week there, Charlotte got Clary a job with her niece, Aline Penhallow. It was at a fancy restaurant in town that the club owned, and Aline's girlfriend, Helen Blackthorn, was taking some time off because they had recently adopted a little boy. Incidentally enough, Helen was the sister of Mark, a man who was in Jace's original MC, which had been another tie that Jace was glad he had. It didn't take Clary long to click with Aline; given their similar backgrounds and personalities. Aline also made it easier for Clary to interact with the rest of the woman associated with the MC and the other old ladies.

And then in the fourth week, Alec and Isabelle had shown up, saying that they were just there to check on Clary and make themselves acquainted with Jace. Isabelle had left after a few days of visiting, seemingly satisfied that Clary was safe, and having a firm discussion with Jace that she was a better shot than half of the men in their MC if he hurt her best friend.

Alec, on the other hand, didn't leave.

He stayed with them for another two weeks, sleeping in their spare room, and getting on surprisingly well with Jace.

It didn't take him long to decide that this is where he wanted to be.

He told Clary one night when they were having a few drinks on the back porch of her and Jace's home that even though things were different back with the _Silver Demons_ , it was going to take a long time for that prejudice to disappear completely, and he couldn't handle that any longer. He needed to be with a brotherhood where he was accepted, and it was clear that his life style was one that would have no problem here. Aline was an example of that, but there was also another member of the _Venoms_ who was gay, and he was treated absolutely no differently.

Isabelle and Simon had decided to stay with the _Silver Demons_ for the time being, and see how thing progressed under the change in leadership.

Clary didn't lie to Jace, and tell him that she was absolutely fine. But he knew that. She missed her mother, and her friends. It was still strange that Isabelle didn't live just down the hallway, and when she went into work, she didn't see Simon or Alec or Max. She had moved away from her whole family, and everyone that she had ever grown up with and relied on. They had both known it was going to be that way to start off with, and Jace did what he could to make the transition easier. And with the spaces he couldn't help fill, Charlotte, Aline and Helen came in, acting, almost like a substitute Jocelyn and Isabelle. She couldn't wait to introduce them to each other.

She had also told Jace about the incident with Sebastian. Clary hadn't been sure if she was going to tell him to begin with, but secrets were never good between people who were so close, and so she had told him one night over dinner. Jace had seen red, wanting to drive back to her home town and kill the man with his bare hands, but she had talked him down. She wasn't so certain that she would be able to persuade him not to attack Sebastian if they ever met, but she would cross that path when they came to it.

They were going to be okay.

Having Alec there also helped, and he was so much happier. Magnus had come up a couple of times already to see them, and Alec was talking to him about staying.

And then there was Jace.

Of course.

Things just felt...Easier now that they didn't have to sneak around. Sure, the sneaking around had made things seem hotter, and that dangerous element definitely helped with the whole forbidden vibe, but they were older now. Their lives were dangerous enough without adding their relationship to that as well. And it made her whole body relax. She was sleeping better at night than she ever had, laughing more freely, and there wasn't a part of her that didn't believe it wasn't because of Jace, and the fact that she could openly be with him.

Tonight was a big barbeque, everyone was around at Henry and Charlotte's home; the whole MC. Most of the brothers were drunk, but it was the happy and jolly kind of drunk that put everyone in a good mood. Clary was sitting with Aline, the pair of them laughing over bowls of Charlotte's amazing kahlua cheesecake.

"Hey, girls," Jace gave them his charming smile as he approached them, dropping his arm around Clary's shoulders and leaning down to kiss the crown of her head.

"Hi, Jace," Aline sung out, grinning between him and Clary. "I think I'm just gonna run over to see how Helen is doing," she nodded over to where Helen and their son were sitting with Charlotte and a couple of the brothers. She gave them one last smile before she skipped over to join her family. Jace held out a hand to Clary, hauling her to her feet and pulling her in close to him.

"How are you doing, baby?" He whispered, dropping his head down to rest his forehead against hers. Clary met his eyes, resting both her hands on his chest as she nuzzled her nose to his.

"I'm going to be perfect," she whispered back to him. " _We're_ going to be perfect."

"Yes," Jace smiled as he brushed a kiss over her mouth. "Yes, we are."

 _Right! So...How was it?_

 _I've got lots of recommendations I want to make coz I've been away for so long, but I'll just throw a couple out there. Movies—_ Moana _! It was amazing. So was_ Rogue One _, which I didn't expect to like because I'm not a big fan of Felicity Jones, but it was incredible, and Diego Luna is my new love. And a couple of songs I'm in love with at the moment are_ Falling For You _by Lyon Hart and_ Dangerously _by Charlie Puth._

 _Alright, so, tell me...Did you guys all have an amazing Christmas/New Years? Me and my hubby always travel for Christmas to see extended family, but it was just a quiet one at home with a couple of his family members, so that was nice. And for New Years we rented out a house by the beach with a couple of our close friends, so that was amazing._

 _Tell me what you guys got up to, and leave a review._

 _Don't forget to check out the new multi-chapter stories, which you guys all voted on, as well as a bunch of new oneshots I've written. I've gone and put some of them up :)_


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